Is This Europe's UGLIEST Plane? Condor A330neo Business Class

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I took a flight onboard what could just be Europe's ugliest plane - Condor's striking Airbus A330neo to see if it's as bad inside as it looks outside...
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Thumbnail: Creative Commons / Christian Junker | Photography

[@johnreynolds5407]

It is a solid product. I like the livery. Condor is a German holiday airline as you correctly mentioned. The livery is meant to mimic the distinct design of German beach chairs usually found on the Baltic and North Sea coasts.

[@OldQueer]

Keeping with the theme, the flight attendants get up extra early to put beach towels on the plane seats.

[@hassenismail5420]

Shout have had matching pj's to go with this one 😂

[@smurftums]

Flying humbug comes to mind... However it's an incredibly distinctive livery. :)

[@mark123655]

And or a rolled up beach towel.. which is a perfect look for most of their destinations

[@andreasu.3546]

That's an interesting bit of info. I am German and I've sat in those beach chairs (guess you are talking about Strandkörbe) a lot, but I would have never made that connection on my own.

[@falafelraffel8140]

I’m afraid but Condors livery is absolutely stunning. I’ll have to admit, the first time I saw it I didn’t particularly like it but as time progressed, I really started to like it. In the end, they got the whole aviation industry talking about their midsized airline that is usually just relevant for German tourists; therefore this marketing move is absolutely genius. The inside of the new A330s looks incredible as well, I really can’t share your criticisms about their stripy theme

[@tonyf9076]

Every seat includes a towel...

[@edmundblack8754]

The livery looks like those long socks... It almost smells of feet just looking at it, I think it is the worst livery ever made, it is so bad that my friends and me booked a slightly more expensive flight just to avoid being in that livery... It is that bad 🤣

[@der.Schtefan]

I would have chosen diagonal lines with the same concept, but this is def. a conversation starter. It is very purposefully done like this indeed.

[@vincugames]

@@edmundblack8754 Say goodbye to your wasted money. Also the livery should never be a reason to book another flight

[@edmundblack8754]

@@vincugames of course you are Right, but when you have other options and they are similar in quality and price, livery then is a good variable to consider to make a decision 😉

[@albertoortiz1661]

LOVE the livery and interior! It instantly screams holiday and fun. Kudos to Condor for making a bold design choice. So many other airlines give you depressing proletariat gray, maybe beige. It gives high visibility on the tarmac and gets airport goers talking/wondering. Brilliant marketing move.

[@ScoobyMoony]

You must be kidding..? 😂😂 This is the best livery i've ever seen. Their default livery was not very good and i didn't like it at all. This livery is way too smooth. Different colours tho

[@justplanecrazy5575]

It is THE WORST livery to be introduced within the past 10 years.

[@SpottinPlanesForLife]

​@@justplanecrazy5575as an aviator I disagreeee

[@andersmac21]

I think the livery is a bit like marmite, you either love it or hate it. I personally can't stand it and it almost hurts my eyes looking at it but each to their own.

[@justplanecrazy5575]

@@SpottinPlanesForLife it was literally voted worst livery of 2022… and 2023…

[@SpottinPlanesForLife]

@@justplanecrazy5575 nooooo

[@EifelBlaulichtTV]

Ah, Condor's A330 neo. They're affectionately dubbed "Ringelsocken" (Striped Socks) here. And I really love the livery, especially since it's colourful.

[@aviatorb77w]

nothing over our Ringelsöckchen fr 🤝

[@Victor-oz3zo]

It reminds me a bit of the former Transavia "Sugar band" livery designed by Landor. Now only one proud 737-700 is still wearing it.

[@aviator_kevin]

@@aviatorb77w Ringelsocken on top 🔵🟢🟡🔴

[@flywings4414]

But the greens are the „Kotzeutel“ 🤣🤣🤣

[@flywings4414]

Kotzbeutel, sorry

[@jamesnoonan7450]

Me, my wife and my two young children flew on condor over to mexico last year for a two week family holiday. We connected through frankfurt. My wife was incredibly worried, as our kids are both under 5 years old. However, from the moment we stepped on board, we were made to feel welcome. The cabin crew made a concerted effort to help keep the children entertained, with one even colouring with my eldest for a while in between services. The captain also passed through the cabin and chatted to everyone (something you don't see done very often these days). For a "holiday airline," they are incredible. I also adore there livery its different and stands out !

[@lvthud]

I took the family down to Jamaica for a week (10 of us), the place I rented looked right on to the approach at Montego Bay, the first day my nieces saw the Condor plane come in and were amazed at the paint scheme. It really is a stroke of genius on Condors part, next year we are heading to Europe and the family asked if we are flying Condor. Well actually we are, the wife, my in laws and I will be upfront, the rest are in coach. From other reviews Condor looks to have a solid product, certainly better than LH or BA.

[@tobiaswieland8847]

Condor was once Lufthansa‘s holiday airline. In 2009, Lufthansa sold its remaining shares in Condor to the travel group Thomas Cook. After its bankruptcy, the airline received state aid and was thus able to survive. Condor now flies in competition with Lufthansa on many routes. In responce, Lufthansa has founded Discover Airlines (formerly Eurowings discover) as its new holiday airline and direct competitor to Condor. The fact that Condor is a former subsidiary of Lufthansa is the reason what the airline flies Form Terminal 1 at Frankfurt airport, Business class passengers are allowed to use the Lufthansa lounges there and why Lufthansa has to operativ feeder flights to Condor‘s long-haul flights. Lufthansa wanted to end the latter two years ago, baut was forced by the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) to continue offering these flights.

[@sightsandsoundsofaviation]

It was not the best move of Lufthansa to abandon Condor, when they did. Instead, all of this mess with Eurowings or Discover Airlines or whatever they call themselves. Just short term measures to save on personnel and to break the Pilot's Union. Not really a smart move.

[@lzh4950]

@@sightsandsoundsofaviation Meanwhile my country probably didn't have to go to that extent to rein in our flag airline's pilot union; our leader probably just had to deem going on strike to be an act of treason & threaten to replace striking staff (now, when the union has pay disputes with the airline & is negotiating with them about this matter, pilots continue to work)

[@ninettemurk7492]

I think the Condor livery is modern and fun, not ugly at all. They have various colorways too. I can think of a few planes that look a lot more boring!

[@PaddyDoc]

Being a Celtic fan I love it, it’s basically our home club shirts on a chuffing plane 💚🍀✊

[@drast0ne]

Betis Sevilla fans like it too

[@marksteele7876]

The have one in blue for us rangers fans aswell 😂

[@UnbelievableEricthegiraffe]

Dewsbury Celtic Rugby league formed1879 Plymouth Arygle. Founded around two years before Glasgow Celtic.

[@livesatellitestudios]

HAIL from the USA - I seen the thumbnail and instantly thought - The official 1888 Celtic F.C. Plane? About time! I drive a White Van..... thinking about Green stripes

[@TaylorSurf]

That livery is great marketing. Look how much coverage it's got them. Brilliant video as always.

[@justarandombird]

While i'm personally not the biggest fan of the livery, i will have to admit that it is great marketing since t does get the ppl talking about their brand.

[@worldtraveler84]

A lot of people don’t know this but different airline employees have different metrics that they have to meet from a performance standpoint. Situations where the agent starts boarding the aircraft before the fly crew is ready most likely means that agent didn’t want to take the hit for the delay but instead put it on the flight crew to take the hit.

[@jcaam8094]

This livery grew on me, I like it.

[@joannharrington2279]

That plane certainly gets your attention which is a PR dream. The stripes do become a little much but you made up for it by getting good service and great food. Safe travels, stay warm and see you next time.

[@rkablau]

Condor is achieving the exact thing with their livery what they hoped for. Because whenever you see stripes now you think of them. Very well clever thought out. Great review!

[@georgeprout42]

Pacer mints. Pacer trains. I now think shoddily cobbled together and an uncomfortable ride. Luckily I'm not in their target audience.

[@killiehausen8507]

I love the livery! It's much better than the standard white with a splash of colour here or there. More like this please!

[@iank6090]

We seen condor fly out and into Zante loads of times and my wife loved the livery. She even said she’d love to fly on it! It seems Condor livery is doing its job by being so striking as we watched the flights for a week and that was the one that stood out favourably in our case.

[@jooei2810]

That flying zebra is cute! 🤣

[@user-vj7wi2zz1n]

12:38 “it’s everywhere; you can’t escape” haha awesome. 😂😂😂😂

[@GermanEngineer84]

There's a book I had to think of called "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" by the Irish author John Boyne when you mentioned that it was bad that there were no striped PJs.

[@36sportsawall]

It looks like Dr Seuss's vision of a zebra. I think all holiday airlines should look unique like this

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

Greebra, maybe?

[@Flutterwhat]

Condor is coming to San Antonio in may! Excited for the first route outside of Mexico for our international airport.

[@Iain1983]

“Con Air” 🤣 certainly looked like it when you were away to bed 🤣

[@j.h.arnold]

Condor has 5 different colour schemes; red, representing Passion, and yellow, representing Sunshine, are not on the long haul routes. Those routes will be in Island (green), Beach (beige) and Sea (blue). Whilst I’m not a fan of the livery, on an apron with 200 planes on it you will never, ever, miss or mistake the Condor plane for anything else. The fact that their C-CL blows LHs out of the wat… um, sky, is just icing on the cake.

[@MichaelD8393]

I saw a Condor A330 in Vegas this past October. The minute I saw the stripes, I had to learn more about the airline.

[@thaimaxcan]

I love Condor plane livery. They are so different. Noel , you are becoming real American speaking all the time about U S style prisoners strip uniform. To my knowledge , UK never use striped prisoners uniforms.

[@ab4113]

Being from Glasgow, this plane hurts my eyes - ugly as fook

[@ninettemurk7492]

They wear orange uniforms in US prisons

[@tonychan8558]

I bet you were (in the words of Jeremy Clarkson) 'nursing a semi' when you found the landing videos! Great idea, I would watch that all flight long.

[@KevinJones-qp9er]

😂😂😂

[@Delta_NWAB747fan]

Jeremy Clarkson has some of the greatest quotes of all time.

[@maiweatherstories8714]

One of my friends asked if it was a prison plane. I told him no. The thing is, the livery stands out. Saw it last week in Barbados (BGI)

[@coyotelong4349]

If Barbados is prison, lock me up and throw away the key 🏝️

[@sabinelandau2330]

it certainly stands out, no doubt about it 😄

[@stogieguy7]

I laughed when I first saw that livery, but it has grown on me. Yes, the stripes are counter to the concept of forward movement. But it’s quite a unique branding and painting a/c in different colors (with the same pattern) is an original way to distinguish the airline from others. The rest of the product looks pretty solid, so the stripes wouldn’t bother me in the least. Great video as always…travel safe!

[@JayTheAvgeek]

Condor is a good airline, it’s the new livery (the livery you flew with) that looks like a prison uniform, it’s not the plane but the livery

[@Furopted]

The livery is meant to mimic the distinct design of German beach chairs and has absolutly nothing to do with prison uniforms.

[@tigersharkzh]

The livery represents a beach towel. They fly to holiday destinations so...

[@CityandNatureEscapes]

Noel is awesome. Noel puts pressure on the airlines to provide the best possible service, which leads to a better aviation industry and satisfied travellers. Wishing safe and happy travels.

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

Great vlog as always my friend! The logo is a beach towel in different colors. Now you know! How cool that DE has a better C-class than LH. Nice to know. Keep up the good work. Be safe!

[@codyslade5558]

The Condor livery reminds me of Braniff Airlines and their “flying colors”.

[@PolPotsPieHole]

those old Braniff planes were awesome.....I like this one too, different

[@codyslade5558]

@PolPotsPieHole as a child I enjoyed flying on Braniff. I liked the orange 727's. Actually I liked all of the colors that their planes were painted.

[@Heidi_Bradshaw]

Great video Noel. Just goes to show the disparity between airlines on business classes etc. looking forward to the next one!

[@typhoontim125]

As a Glasgow Celtic fan I have to disagree...that is s thing of immense beauty! 😀☘️

[@ascension8910]

Indeed! It Looks Phantastic

[@chelseajacques_]

haha the blue version of the livery on another A330 looks like a QPR shirt ;)

[@typhoontim125]

@@chelseajacques_ Blue is an awful colour 🤭☘️

[@RendiRetnandito29]

the landing video on the infotainment system is a really nice touch I wish more airlines do that

[@alexdavis5766]

The data geek in me wishes you’d start a table that explains what seats etc in each class and airline are like. Eg wide but not comfy to sit on or long and thin bed. Would be great when booking to help decide between airlines/ planes etc

[@whatever8282828]

I see you called the bed "thin" but that makes me think of the padding on the bottom (which I am sometimes aggravated by on airplanes). I would call the lack of shoulder room "narrow" instead.

[@davidcole333]

Like several others on here, when I first saw that livery I thought it was hideous, but now I love it. I tip my hat to them for getting creative.

[@codyslade5558]

I think that Condor’s livery is truly unique and eye catching. Clever marketing by Condor. The airplanes are hard to miss and people will remember the striped airliner.

[@davie0123]

What do you know about style Noel...

[@lukebrown6737]

Awesome livery Noel! Different yes, awesome absolutely! Props to them for having the balls to paint the plane like this!

[@anomalique_ofc]

Hi there, I'm a ramp agent at Hamburg Airport (HAM). Condors crew is always a bit slow preparing the cabin for passengers. Usually the ramp agent starts the pre boarding into the jet bridge even if they crew says they're not ready because if he would only start when they're 100% ready the flight would be massively delayed. Maybe that's the case here again. Of course for the passengers it's not comfortable but its necessary for the schedule.

[@MLeonard317]

I really like Condors livery. Its fun.

[@daveywright1702]

Can you remember Pacer sweets … ? They were an offshoot from Opal Fruits

[@stuartlauderdale8382]

First thing I thought of when I saw the livery 👍

[@bonanddave49]

Lol same here

[@greatgalar5772]

Snap, pacers were amazing

[@andybaker2456]

Yep, puts me in mind of a Pacer, too. They were originally called Opal Mints and were plain white. But then they added the green stripes and renamed them Pacers. My nephews used to just call them Stripes!

[@sandiandgregh]

I remember the Opal Mints! My Mum had those and the Opal Fruits in her purse on every single family trip, especially road trips. Good memories. Thanks for that @@andybaker2456

[@Gregy1able]

I love the Livery, very different & they have fifferent coulourways on the theme. A fresh approach for a new era !!!

[@Cars-N-Jets]

I saw that Green flying Candy Cane when I was Landing in Frankfurt on the 747 from O’hare. I love the look of it. So when I mentioned I flew over to Deutsche Bank I also went to the game that week there Dolphins vs Chiefs. And the plane spotted when nothing exciting was happening. Mainly the Halftime show and commercial breaks. It'll be a trip I'll never forget.

[@FastGuy1]

Noel, The reason for why the sun rises earlier in Texas is because of its lower latitude compared to England. In the winter the further up north you head the later the sun will rise and vice versa in the summer. In the summer most of Texas only gets around 14 hours of daylight in the summer while in England that could be well over 16+ hours. Hopes this helps anyone

[@codyslade5558]

Very well said! I lived in Seattle and in the summer time it would not get dark until 10:30pm-11:00pm. I loved it. However, in the winter the nights are long and sometimes depressing because they don’t get the sun often.

[@pennywood5653]

I'm surprised he doesn't know this.

[@FastGuy1]

@@pennywood5653 So was I honestly.

[@lzh4950]

Meanwhile in tropical Singapore I read of a tourist who was surprised that the sun still hadn't rise @ 0630h. That's because the country follows the same time zone as neighbouring peninsular Malaysia, which in-turn wants to follow east Malaysia's timezone (probably to bring the country closer to other east Asia-Pacific countries' timezones to facilitate financial trading). So sunrise is usually around 0645h (but can be as late as 0715 or 0730h if its raining, especially during the Nov-Jan monsoon season), & then the sun usually stays up for ~12h

[@FastGuy1]

@@lzh4950 Yeah, that’s mainly because Singapore sits near the equator making for 12 hours of sunlight year round.

[@clarencebenjaminlim]

I love the paint job. Flipping different.

[@laurensvanesveld1354]

Hi Noel thanks for the great vlog, I love the livery as it's in different colours, was in Frankfurt from Dublin last September and noticed green red and a few more, But we travelled from Frankfurt to Tuscany with friend who picked us up an electric Ford Mustang light blue. Brilliant all the way passing Switzerland as well . Only thing I didn't like is the bus ride from the plane , keep up the great job yeh doing. Cheers Noel.

[@ikeabiscuits5481]

At first when it was announced, I really didn’t like the new striped livery. But as time had gone on I’ve actually started to really like the livery. Great video again Noel!

[@DisasterBreakdown]

You have no idea how much I look forward to hearing Noel say "This Week" every sunday :)

[@brenstratters2026]

I think the Condor scheme comes from the WW1 "Flying Circus" colours used by the German Air Force on the likes of Fokker Triplanes and Albatros aircraft amoungst others. Like the travel vids. All the best. 😀

[@matthiasfink8477]

If you want the Condor pajama you need to book the first row of Business Class in the A330 Neo which they brand as Prime Seats. You get extra legroom, additional amenities and a NON-STRIPED ;) pajama. I have flown them twice between FRA and NYC and it's a solid product, definitely better than Lufthansa.

[@KeeDoVlogs]

You’ve been an inspiration to me launching my channel. Favorite part of your videos are the Loo Reviews!

[@davidswift9120]

I love it. A bit like Pacers sweets in the UK in the 70s & 80s!

[@wingflex5367]

Only one thing to remember when flying Conair, put the bunny back in the box.

[@exp1993]

Amazing video, Thank you for the content Noel!

[@uzmaahmed.catmoon]

The stripy livery on the Condor sounds absolutely hilarious Noel. Sound like a decent airline And another fabulous vid

[@deloresthomas5624]

Love all Condor's livery. Reminds me of a roll lifesavers. It is imaginative and stands out.

[@nipafilms236]

To be honest this is one of the best liveries 👌

[@matthiashartge5520]

I'm not really a fan of the new livery either but it's got one major advantage: you can always imediately recognize Condor planes. It's denfinitely not as boring as all these "euro-white" liveries more and more airlines adapt^^

[@fionabegonia7802]

Ha! Ha! Ha! The livery on the Condor plane is a real trip !! ........and yes, England is truly "North Atlantic dark" this time of year!

[@jimmy_churri]

First 30 seconds noel comes out swinging with the cancun joke. Love it.

[@brianglas7768]

Loved the comment about flying to Cancun when it gets cold in Houston..😀

[@simonhutchings6073]

Noel great review . I like the colour scheme of the Condor Aircraft I often see the striped A330.9 s and the smaller siblings overflying Pompey at FL370 nice to see .😃

[@Sunshine_day]

Well, Noel, all I can say is at least it doesn't look like a big Tylenol! 😆😜

[@Larn83]

I’m restricted to my bedroom as I have covid and feeling a little bit sorry for myself. I get a notification and its a new Noel Philips video. You’ve made my day Noel thanks mate 🥰

[@holdenls1ssz]

Oh well, put your big boy pants on and im sure you'll get over the sniffles...🙄

[@mrwhosenotheboss]

Love this

[@runningrauster8971]

The landing videos are a very cool entertainment option! Well done condor for doing something unique

[@avgaskoolaid4572]

I think the new Condor livery is indicative of a new trend in airline liveries. Think of Spirit, the new JetBlue livery, Riyadh Air, ITA, the new Royal Jordanian, etc. It seems like the trend is slowly moving away from plain Eurowhite/predictable tail swoops with small logo text and toward bold schemes that stand out among the crowd. There are exceptions of course (like Air India, Brussels Airlines etc), but the trend seems to be just beginning. I'm all for it- even if some of the new liveries are a bit "loud" and garish it makes them more interesting!

[@bsr6823]

I love this livery!!! It’s so cool to me and absolutely unique

[@ShelterCats]

From the outside it reminds me of that fruit stripe gum I had as a kid for some reason. At least it's hard to miss a plane that looks like that. That food looked really good!

[@tweetyjl68]

The stripes are so fun, love it!

[@oceanlnr9414]

I like it, good to see something unique. I flew condor from Frankfurt to Seattle in economy last summer, it was a nice flight. The IFE with Bluetooth capability was a great feature.

[@SerpicoDreams]

Excited to watch this video. Just popped up on feed! 🐊🐍 Stripes inside do look like prison pajamas...or Beetlejuice, the main character in that movie ...name the same. Say Beetlejuice three times, etc.

[@betrousaltaweel]

Looks like a giant Twister ice lolly.

[@jonnyb2774]

I love the condor livery. It’s maybe not pretty but that they dare to stand out and be a little silly is amazing.

[@sfremgen]

From your review, Condor looks like a keeper to me! Thanks, Noel!

[@Hans007Dampf]

I love that Condor livery!

[@nicolepeters6660]

That's so funny. I was waiting for hand cuffs in the amenity kit 😂

[@spiegeje]

I love that livery because it’s so unique…it’s effective too because so many people talk about it…everyone knows it’s Condor.

[@corona407]

I think this livery is cool and fun, it stands out and was a brave move by condor -- before, they looked as generic as any other airline. Gonna fly to the canary islands on one of their A321s soon, hopefully it'll be striped 😅

[@xcofcd]

I really like the livery. They have different colors, too...

[@bugumness]

😂 the livery makes me cringe because it reminds me of a caterpillar. But have to give it to them, it definitely stands out!

[@alix5704]

I'm reserving judgement on Condor's livery, since the loudest livery in the U.S. has to be Spirit's old yellow planes. They have a fan club among us plane watchers are are called "banana planes." One plane-watching channel even has a special subgroup of subscribers who donate to the channel every time they see a "banana." Could be that eventually there will be a fan club for the stripey planes.

[@6410daniel]

I flew Condor back in 99 from orlando fl. to frankfurt... the plane was white in color.. .I have flown on many airlines thru the years.. Condor was the best flight out of all of the others... they were like you said professional,, girls were beautiful. every hour they came to ask if i needed anything... Thank you Condor for the great flight... ps I flew economy..

[@sgauntt]

0:15 don’t think I didn’t see what you did there 😂😂😂

[@ascension8910]

Its a phantastic livery! I like it a lot!

[@user-tv3nd8em2e]

The livery is uniquely good and cheeky. Perfekt!

[@Kuemmernis66]

Wellkommen on board?! That one cracked me up 😂😂

[@Fix_em_jets]

It reminds me a Zebra Stripped gum. I loved that gum. Nostalgia creeping in.

[@JamesThatcher]

Honestly, I don't mind the stripes. I guess the big thing that I mind is the big green ones on the outside, but you wouldn't see those since you're inside. So I would say it's a go for me....

[@joergr82]

I actually think the livery is awesome. Spot on on the Lufthansa comparison and the service on board though...!!

[@mattsmith7301]

Love the landing destination vids on the inflight entertainment! The scran looked decent aswell 👍🏻😎

[@target7541]

I love the stripes, for me it is the most beautiful plane in Europe

[@grandaddydave]

I actually quite like the look of that plane… probably says more about my taste though than it does about the plane 😂

[@tscottphelps]

I enjoy the color scheme for the planes. It's something new, refreshing, and very distinctive. As someone who flies Condor regularly from SEA > FRA, they have the best game in town. When they moved away from the dated 767, it made me incredibly happy. Better than the Lufthansa flight!

[@bar9973]

Condor should have painted the stripes red and white like a candy cane which was also invented in Germany. Their plane was certainly beautiful on the inside regardless. I could never totally relax on a plane and would have to be extremely tired to fall asleep. Seeing the snow in Frankfurt reminded me of Joan Baez’s “Love Song to a Stranger (Part 2)” with the lyrics, “My thoughts drift into the frozen night, Frankfurt is covered with snow”. She’s not really known for writing songs but this is one of my favorites among the other good songs she’s written. Your videos are especially entertaining because of your great sense of humor. Tragic events have happened in the big beautiful state of Texas and your brilliant humor must be welcomed.

[@Cl4rendon]

The short & medium haul ( A 320-A321 & 757-300) have the red stripes next to blue and beige. The Long haul A 330-900 have green, blue & beige.

[@bar9973]

@@Cl4rendonThanks for the information. Also to resemble a candy cane the stripes on the fuselage could be diagonal rather than vertical.