# Condor or Icelandair



## mconley3 (Jun 24, 2015)

Does anyone have experience with Condor or Icelandair?

We flew Air France from Dulles to Paris last summer and had a very nice experience. Looking at tickets for June, Condor(Lufthansa connector) out of BWI and Iceland Air our of Dulles are the best prices on round trip tickets. I've never flown either. BWI is more convenient, and we could have someone drop us which would save about $120 for parking.


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## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

I fly to Iceland a lot. I like Icelandair especially if you can get an upgrade where they have the middle row of 3 seats blocked out. I fly Saga class too (business pays) and that is obviously a bigger seat but even in their regular seats on their 757 the room is fine and the service is excellent. Friendly staff and good food/drinks. The flight from DC to Keflavik(Reykjavik) is easy and only about 5-5.5 hours. I would go Icelandair (might check WOW air too but it's a budget airline)


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## sactoken (Apr 4, 2004)

I would definitely choose Condor. I flew both last year, Condor Portland-Frankfurt in September and Icelandair Seattle-Munich (via Reykjavik) in November for my ED. I flew both in the upgraded class (Condor business and Icelandair Saga), so I can't really comment on economy class. I chose both because their business-class fares were much cheaper than other airlines (Condor $2600, Saga $3100, other airlines $4-5k).

Condor was terriffic. The plane was an Airbus widebody. Their business class was comparable to business class on other airlines, in terms of food, entertainment, and service in general. Maybe slightly less good but comparable. They have typical business-class seats, with a lot of adjustments, and can lie flat at an angle. Considering the price, it was great value.

Icelandair is maybe the worst airline I've flown on. First of all, Saga class is not business class, it's economy with wide seats. The seats only recline, like an economy seat. Worse than that, seat pitch is very tight. With the seat in front of me reclined, it felt every bit as claustrophobic as economy class. The seatback was hard and flat, so much that I had a backache by the time we got to Reykjavik (after that, I used a pillow for lower-back support, which helped). I usually don't mind airplane food but this food was awful, a little too "Icelandic" for this non-adventurous eater. I can usually find enough music and video on a plane to keep myself occupied, but the entertainment selection was poor, with nothing that interested me (mostly very old movies, a lot of Icelandic content, and a very limited selection of music).

I'd wanted to fly Icelandair for a while, because they allow no-cost layovers in Iceland, which I'd always wanted to visit. But not in November! The plane change in Reykjavik was not pleasant. The time intervals are very tight (as little as 35 min. on my flights). The planes to and from Seattle stopped on the tarmac and you had to take a bus to the terminal. Iceland is in the EU so you have to go through passport control. With all this, you barely have time even to just use the restroom. Boarding the return flight required standing outside on a slippery airstair in the dark, rainy, frigid weather (without a suitable jacket, of course).

Interestingly, on the Munich-Reykjavik flight, the plane said Icelandair on the outside but American Airlines on the inside. Literally! This was evidently an old AA 757 they'd bought and hadn't yet converted (they fly only 757's) and the seats still had the AA logo. It had no entertainment at all but the seats had leg rests and massive amounts of leg room, so it was actually much more comfortable than their standard plane.


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## 1northcar (Mar 7, 2015)

I have flown both Condor and Icelandair in economy class. Both were OK by me but Condor provided meal service and on Icelandair there was a purchase option. We did take advantage of the free stop over in Iceland and found that to be a bonus, especially since it broke up the flying time and allowed us to arrive in Munich refreshed after only a 3 hour flight. Here is a link to the Icelandic Air flight and stopover last March:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=832606

Click on the above link for photos relating to the below quoted commentary:

"Taking advantage of Icelandair's no charge stop over in Iceland worked nicely to break up the air travel to Munich, especially since the airline flies direct to Munich from Iceland. Our oldest daughter who accompanied us got her first introduction to what an included European hotel breakfastwas like, commenting that it was unlike any "continental breakfast" she had experienced in the U.S. We followed the hotel's sumptuous buffet breakfast by an afternoon bathing in the thermal waters of The Blue Lagoon. The Lagoon's Lava Restaurant proved up to its recommendations and we enjoyed the "Tasting Menu" with its multiple courses of Icelandic specialty dishes that included the best Haddock we have ever had and a lamb dish (pictured below) that was almost as out-of-this world as Iceland itself seems to be. (Emphasizing this point we encountered a fellow hotel guest who was there from NASA on a two month mission for some type of airborne equipment testing.)

Definitely a unique experience partially submerged in the open waters as snow fell!"


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## Asteroid (Aug 17, 2005)

If price is a consideration, check out Wow Air. Just read an article saying that it'll fly out of BWI. Doesn't fly to Munich though, but they go to Frankfurt.


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## SpeedsterBek (Jul 25, 2009)

WOW air nickel & dimes you for everything and you'll end up paying the same. If they're like spirit then I would avoid them. Besides, WOW air have limited number of flights per week. 

You can consider flying out of PHL since it's about the same distance from Baltimore to PHL vs IAD. 
Also, check out the Turkish airlines (from IAD) , if you don't mind a stopover in Istanbul. I've flown Turkish airlines couple of times and the service was excellent.


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## Dave 20T (Apr 7, 2013)

sactoken said:


> I would definitely choose Condor. I flew both last year, Condor Portland-Frankfurt in September and Icelandair Seattle-Munich (via Reykjavik) in November for my ED. I flew both in the upgraded class (Condor business and Icelandair Saga), so I can't really comment on economy class. I chose both because their business-class fares were much cheaper than other airlines (Condor $2600, Saga $3100, other airlines $4-5k).
> 
> Condor was terriffic. The plane was an Airbus widebody. Their business class was comparable to business class on other airlines, in terms of food, entertainment, and service in general. Maybe slightly less good but comparable. They have typical business-class seats, with a lot of adjustments, and can lie flat at an angle. Considering the price, it was great value.
> 
> ...


I've flown Icelandic before. They are fine. I flew in economy class but saw their business class. Their business class seats look like U.S. domestic first class. They are not the fancy lie flat seats or similar seating that's on British Airways or Delta. Of course, Icelandic business class is much cheaper. Think of it as better than premium economy.


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