ON THE GROUND: I arrived at JFK with enough time to check in, get through security and enjoy some time before my flight in the Terminal 7 lounge. I grabbed snacks and a drink while I did some work before getting on the plane. Since I didn’t have to worry about limited overhead space on the plane, I decided to wait in the lounge for a couple of minutes after the boarding call to lessen my time waiting on the plane. Once I got to the gate, it was fairly crowded, but since business class had already boarded, I was able to get on right away. I flew Condor Airlines’ new business class cabin on its new Airbus A330neo.

PRE-FLIGHT: As I boarded the plane, I realized my seat was the first one in the middle of the plane. I was lucky to sit in the Prime Seat, also referred to as the best seat on the plane. The Prime Seat offers more space to stretch, a larger bed and a larger screen. After putting my carry-on in my overhead bin, I settled into my spacious seat and checked out all the amenities. In my seat were slippers, a pillow, a blanket and a mattress pad for the night portion. To my right I found headphones; water; a small snack; and an amenity kit with a sleeping mask, lotion, lip balm, body mist, toothbrush and toothpaste, and socks.

Once I settled in, I was offered a glass of Champagne before takeoff. Since I was in a Prime Seat, I also received a little basket filled with more snacks including popcorn, Pringles, gummy bears and an orange-mango smoothie drink.

IN-FLIGHT: After a smooth takeoff, the crew handed out the dinner menu as well as a glass of water. I ordered the shrimp scampi with broccoli and saffron rice and another glass of Champagne, then enjoyed my appetizers including bell pepper dip, a Bavarian pretzel, marinated tuna and a mixed green salad — all delicious. While I waited for my meal, I reclined my seat a little and started the Pixar movie Elemental. Even though I felt a little full from the appetizers, I still had room to enjoy my meal, and I was happy with my decision.

After dinner I reclined a little further so I could finish my movie before fully lying down to catch a couple of hours of sleep. When the movie ended, I used the restroom before setting up my bed for the night. I decided to put on a movie I’d already seen as well as my sleep mask and headphones so the familiar sound could lull me to sleep. After sleeping about two hours, I still had some time left, so I looked through the large movie selection and decided to watch Entourage, falling in and out of sleep again.

Before I knew it, we were making our descent into Frankfurt, and I had to put my seat back up and prepare for landing. The landing was smooth, and we were off the plane in no time.

TOP TAKEAWAYS:

• The entertainment options were lengthy and offered a good mix of new and old movies and TV shows.
• I greatly appreciated the extra amenities in the Prime Seat. The extra room proved helpful when trying to fall asleep, and the extra snacks made a nice touch to hold me over until we reached our destination.

CONDOR AIRLINES
condor.com