Condor Partnership = Lufthansa Miles on Alaska?

Alaska Airlines and Condor, a German budget/leisure airline, have partnered: you can now earn Alaska miles when flying on Condor. But what about the other way around?

Condor used to be partially owned by Lufthansa. Being a German airline linked to Lufthansa, it uses Miles & More as its loyalty program. Even after Thomas Cook acquired Lufthansa’s interest in the carrier in 2009, Condor continued to partner with Miles & More.

On my mind: can you credit Alaska flights to Condor, thereby to Miles & More?

The answer appears NO. At least not now.

Condor’s website is woefully unclear. It lists up an impressive list of partners, but as for mileage earnings speaks only of earning on Condor flights–

As a partner in the Miles & More program, you will earn valuable miles on Condor flights, or you can easily spend your miles on the next Condor flight you take.

Imagine the possibilities. You fly Alaska and credit to Condor. Suddenly you have access to the entire Star Alliance network. Alaska partners with SkyTeam and oneworld members but no Star Alliance members.

So I guess it is just a pipe dream for now, but stay tuned. Per The Points Guy, we will soon have the ability to redeem Alaska miles on Condor (not just earn them). That will open up some attractive award options since Condor has an extensive North American route network.

Condor North American Route Map

Crediting Condor Flights to Alaska

While you cannot credit Alaska flights to Condor, you can credit Condor flights to Alaska. With a generally unattractive award chart, that is going to make a whole lot more sense for almost everyone than crediting your Condor flights to Miles & More. The surprisingly generous mileage earnings rates coupled with attractive Condor fares will cause me to consider using Condor for my next trip to Germany.

Condor earnings chart on Alaska

Condor, the Full Service Budget Carrier

I’d classify Condor as more of a leisure carrier than budget carrier, though it does fit many of the parameters of a low-cost carrier. Nevertheless, expect setback monitors, complimentary meals, and free checked baggage when you fly on Condor.

Condor offers three classes of service. Business class has angled lie-flat seats like Lufthansa used to have:

Condor Business Class 03

Condor Business Class 01

Condor Business Class 02

A small premium economy cabin (35 seats) offers extra legroom and recline:

Condor Premium Economy Class

Economy is tight, but the allure of reaching Europe directly from secondary cities like San Diego and Pittsburgh probably outweighs the temporary discomfort:

Condor Economy Class

CONCLUSION

While the Miles & More program has many deficiencies, I had hoped the new Alaska/Condor partnership would have opened up a way to credit Alaska miles to Miles & More. That is not the case. Nevertheless, the new Alaska/Condor partnership is exciting and makes Alaska MileagePlan even more valuable.