Last spring, Condor launched a new route between Frankfurt and Edmonton, offering Albertans another direct option to Europe. That route is set to return in Summer 2024.
Last fall, Condor announced its intention to bring back direct service between Frankfurt and Calgary, which it last operated in 2019. The service has been confirmed, and it’s now bookable throughout the Summer 2024 schedule, both with cash and points.
Condor’s Frankfurt–Calgary Route
Condor is set to bring back service that links Frankfurt and Calgary for the Summer 2024 schedule.
The twice-weekly service will start on May 20, 2024, and runs through to September 12, 2024.
The westbound flight from Frankfurt clocks in at 9 hours 45 minutes, and flying from Calgary to Frankfurt is set for 9 hours 25 minutes.
Flights will depart on Monday and Thursday, with flight times as follows:
- DE2440 Frankfurt (FRA) to Calgary (YYC), departing 12:10pm and arriving 1:55pm
- DE2441 Calgary (YYC) to Frankfurt (FRA), departing 4:55pm and arriving 10:20am the next day
Fortunately, the route is served by Condor’s flagship Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, complete with economy, premium economy, and business class cabins.
The flights are loaded into Condor’s website, and can be booked throughout the schedule.
Booking Condor’s Frankfurt–Calgary Flights
As it stands, the best way to book flights with Condor using points is through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
Flights in either direction price out as follows:
- Economy: 25,000 miles
- Premium economy: 45,000 miles
- Business class: 55,000 miles
Throughout the Summer 2024 schedule, availability in economy and premium economy is fairly widespread, and flights in business class are available on many dates in July and August.
It’s worth noting that the pricing and availability patterns are similar on the Edmonton route, which is also served by the A330-900neo in Summer 2024.
Keep in mind that Condor also operates a number of other routes between Frankfurt and destinations across North America. In Canada, you’ll find direct flights to Vancouver (YVR), Toronto (YYZ), and Halifax (YHZ).
Unfortunately, the airport at Whitehorse (YXY) isn’t able to accommodate the A330-900neo, and this longstanding route has been put on pause for at least two years while the airport is renovated, but may never return.
As it stands, earning Alaska miles in Canada requires transferring Marriott Bonvoy points or getting into US credit cards. However, that’s set to change at some point this year, when MBNA Rewards become transferable to Alaska miles at a 1:1 ratio.
When this happens, it’ll be a great opportunity for Canadians to access direct flights to Europe with another points currency.
Until then, you can also take advantage of buying Alaska miles during a sale. The best sales in the past year have been to purchase Alaska miles with a 60% bonus, which worked out to be a cost of 1.85 cents per mile (USD).
For a round-trip flight to Europe in business class, you’d need 110,000 miles, which would cost $2,035 USD ($2,718 CAD) during such a sale.
A quick check on Google Flights shows that the lowest cost for cash flights in business class is around $3,500 (CAD).
Therefore, if you can buy Alaska miles during a sale, you stand to save a fair bit of cash versus booking directly with the airline.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan typically puts on sales every couple of months, so you may want to keep an eye out for the next one to potentially save some cash on a direct flight to Europe in business class this summer.
In March 2024, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan will be undergoing some sweeping changes. Included in these changes will be a new distance-based award chart.
For flights between North America and Europe, award prices will start at the following levels, depending on the total distance flown:
Flights between Calgary and Frankfurt measure just under 4,700 miles, so we’d need to reference the third distance band for the following baseline prices:
- Economy: 27,500 miles
- Premium economy: 35,000 miles
- Business class: 55,000 miles
Fortunately, the prices aren’t set to change dramatically with the new charts on the Frankfurt–Calgary route, and in fact, the baseline price for premium economy could drop by 10,000 miles.
However, keep in mind that these are “starting at” prices, so we could also see them at higher costs. If you’d like to lock in prices at the current levels, be sure to book before then.
Conclusion
For the first time since 2019, Condor is offering direct service between Frankfurt and Calgary. The route is set to operate twice weekly, and will be served by the airline’s best product in the Airbus A330-900neo.
With the loss of the Whitehorse route, Condor will offer flights to five Canadian destinations in 2024: Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Halifax.
Fortunately, there’s good award availability in all cabin classes on Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, so be sure to consider Condor as you’re searching for flights to Europe this summer.
