Category Archives: Condor

A bright new future for Condor: Attestor acquires a majority stake in Condor

Condor Flugdienst Airbus A321-211 D-AIAI (msn 7127) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 951129.

Condor has released this statement:

Condor’s future is secured: Asset manager Attestor acquires 51 percent of the company’s shares and sets the course for a secure future of Condor. Attestor invests 200 million euros of equity capital and will provide a further 250 million euros to modernize Condor’s long-haul fleet. This will ensure the rapid ramp-up of flight operations after the Coronavirus pandemic and will further enable the long-term development of Germany’s most popular leisure airline under the strong Condor brand. All 4,050 jobs at the airline and the company’s own maintenance subsidiary Condor Technik will be retained.

“We are proud that we were able to convince Attestor of Condor as a traditional company with a 65-year history of providing quality holidays and excellent service. Our partnership will enable us, together with our other industry partners, to advance our vision of sustainable air travel, launch innovative products and drive forward digital transformation. Our employees have proven they are prepared to go the extra mile – not only for Condor, but also for our customers and partners. And, going forward, that’s precisely what we will continue to do” says Ralf Teckentrup, CEO of Condor.

Jan-Christoph Peters, founder and owner of Attestor: “Condor is a strong brand with a proven business model in an attractive market. As the leader in the German leisure flight market, Condor is especially well-positioned to benefit when the tourism market picks up. After successful restructuring, the company’s cost position is highly competitive. By investing in Condor, we are not only creating the foundation for a successful restart, but are also paving the way forward for the company’s long-term development into Europe’s leading charter airline. To this end, we will invest substantially to modernize the Condor fleet.”

Attestor is initially acquiring a stake of 51 percent in Condor, while the remaining 49 percent will remain with SG Luftfahrtgesellschaft, which holds its shares on behalf of Germany’s federal government and the government of the state of Hesse. The investor has the option of acquiring the remaining shares at a later time. In order to secure jobs in the long term, the German federal government and the state of Hesse are supporting Condor’s repositioning with a restructuring of the KfW loan. This measure is subject to approval under EU state aid legislation. Condor will repay the remaining KfW loan as agreed in due time.

About Attestor

Attestor is an owner-operated asset management company with a long-term horizon and specializes in investments in turnaround situations. The fund was founded by German investor Jan-Christoph Peters in 2012 and currently has assets under management of around 5.5 billion euros. The majority of the capital comes from university foundations and family offices. The portfolio includes a stake in Kommunalkredit Austria, an Austrian bank, and in Europcar, a car rental agency. Attestor’s investments in the tourism sector include a number of hotels in Italy and the Netherlands.

Top Copyright Photo: Condor Flugdienst Airbus A321-211 D-AIAI (msn 7127) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 951129.

Condor aircraft slide show:

Condor starts flying for DHL Express with 4 Boeing 767-300 freighters

Condor has made this announcement:

Packages instead of passengers: Germany’s most popular leisure airline Condor is now taking off with four Boeing 767-300s on behalf of DHL Express, the world’s leading provider of express services. The first cargo flights under the partnership took off this week. The Condor aircraft will be handled at Europe’s largest DHL Express hub in Leipzig and will transport shipments on a total of three routes to Shannon in Ireland, Milan-Malpensa in Italy and Cologne. In the future, these flights will also be able to transport COVID-19 vaccines. The partnership is initially limited until the end of May.

“We have already been operating more cargo flights over the past year and have expanded our expertise here. We are very pleased to now also work with such an experienced partner as DHL Express,” says Christian Schmitt, COO of Condor. “The partnership also shows that Condor can flexibly adapt to circumstances in special situations and thus contribute an important part to the international supply chain in cooperation with DHL.”

“This firm partnership between Cargo and Passage is unique so far,” adds Markus Otto, Senior Vice President Aviation Europe at DHL Express. “It enables us to respond even faster and more flexibly to the continued high customer demand for international express shipping. The additional Condor capacity will enable us to further improve our service quality and transit times and continue on our growth path.”

Condor has already been operating more cargo flights since April last year and, in addition to e-commerce goods, has so far mainly transported medical protective equipment such as millions of mouth-nose masks, protective suits and gloves. In the course of this, part of the Boeing 767 fleet was also converted into cargo-only aircraft and the seats were expanded.

In the meantime, 14 of 16 Boeing 767s were being used exclusively for cargo flights. Condor has also trained and deployed special cargo supervisors for this purpose, ensuring smooth operations. In addition to cargo flights, Condor also remains loyal to the vacation segment: as Germany’s most popular vacation carrier, Condor currently flies to the Canary Islands, Egypt, Cuba, the Maldives and the Dominican Republic.

For the express division of Deutsche Post DHL Group, the partnership is part of a program of measures to serve the globally increasing express volumes and to grow continuously.

The company had already announced the additional purchase of new wide-body Boeing 777F aircraft at the beginning of the year.

Condor aircraft photo gallery:

Condor aircraft slide show:

First Condor flight takes off for Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic

Condor started the Christmas season on December 18 with the first flight from Frankfurt to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. This marks the return of one of Condor’s most popular destinations to the flight schedule after the Corona-induced break: three times a week, Condor is now taking off in the direction of the popular seaside resort on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic.

In addition, Condor takes off once a week to Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo in the north of the island.

There are also several weekly flights to the Maldives, where a dreamlike island world awaits sun-seekers.

The Dominican Republic and the Maldives complement the existing offer to Cuba: Condor has been flying to Varadero three times a week from Frankfurt since the end of October. Journeys are bookable with all German organizers, flight tickets as usual under http://www.condor.com in the travel agency and by telephone.

Connections from Frankfurt, from December 18, 2020

Varadero: Tuesday, Friday, Saturday
Punta Cana: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo: Sunday
Maldives: Monday, Saturday

Condor aircraft photo gallery:

Condor aircraft slide show:

 

Condor adds back the Dominican Republic and the Maldives

Condor Flugdienst has made this announcement:

Germany’s most popular leisure airline is once again flying to the Dominican Republic and the Maldives: From December 18, 2020, Condor will take off from Frankfurt three times a week to Punta Cana and once a week to Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo.

The Maldives will also be included in the program again with two weekly flights from Frankfurt. The connections to the Canary Islands will be increased: From Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Munich, Condor will take vacationers to Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Palma, Tenerife and Madeira.

Protective measures during the flight

On board all Condor flights, mouth-nose protection is mandatory for guests and the cabin crew. In addition, service and also boarding and disembarkation processes are adapted in accordance with the regulations. Customers are requested to use the online check-in. This ensures maximum protection during the entire journey. On site, guests are asked to behave prudently and in accordance with hygiene regulations throughout their stay and to take into account the entry requirements of the respective destination and the regulations on their return to Germany.

Connections from Frankfurt, from December 18, 2020

Varadero: Tuesday, Friday, Saturday

Punta Cana: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday

Santo Domingo: Sunday

Maledives: Monday, Saturday

Condor aircraft photo gallery:

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Condor will fly from Zurich to the most popular vacation destinations in summer 2021

Condor Flugdienst has made this announcement:

Germany’s most popular leisure airline says “Hello Switzerland”: Condor is stationing two Airbus A320s in Zurich for the 2021 summer season and will then fly to nine of the most popular vacation destinations around the Mediterranean several times a week from there.

Condor will start with 28 flights to Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, as well as to Greece (Crete, Kos, Rhodes), Cyprus (Larnaca), Sardinia (Olbia) and Split in Croatia. Condor is thus responding to the great demand from leading Swiss tour operators for tailor-made vacation flights and is supplementing the existing eight German departure airports for the first time with the largest Swiss airport, Zurich.

Overview:

Palma de Mallorca (Spain) – Daily

Tenerife (Spain) – Monday, Friday

Gran Canarias (Spain) – Wednesday, Saturday

Heraclion (Crete) – Monday, Wednesday, Saturday

Kos – Tuesday, Friday

Rhodes – Thursday, Sunday

Olbia (Sardinia) – Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday

Split (Croatia) – Tuesday, Friday, Sunday

Larnaca (Cyprus) – Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday

Condor aircraft photo gallery:

Condor to resume its summer schedule on June 25

Condor is relaunching its summer flight schedule in time for the start of the summer holiday season on June 25, 2020 from eight airports in Germany to initially 29 holiday destinations: Germany’s most popular leisure airline will be flying from Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Munich, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart, Leipzig/Halle and Berlin-Schoenefeld to the most popular holiday regions, such as the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, Greece, Croatia, Sardinia, Italy, Cyprus, Turkey and the North Sea island of Sylt as of the end of June.

Successive expansion of the current flight plan

Condor is currently offering flights from Frankfurt to Mallorca, Tenerife and Gran Canaria as part of our flight plan to ensure a basic infrastructure within Europe. This will be successively expanded as early as of mid-June: Additional flights to Majorca and the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura), Greece (Kos, Crete, Preveza, Rhodes, Thessaloniki), Andalusia (Jerez de la Frontera), Croatia (Split) and Sardinia (Olbia) will initially be served from Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Munich and Hamburg. Further destinations and the departure airports of Hanover, Stuttgart, Leipzig/Halle and Berlin-Schoenefeld will be added at the beginning of the summer holiday season on June 25, 2020.

Protective measures during the whole journey

As part of a package of measures introduced by the German air transport industry, airlines and airports are implementing a wide range of preventive protective measures for the entire air journey, from entering the terminal to the arrival at the destination: On board all Condor flights, too, mouth-and-nose protection is mandatory for guests and cabin crew until 31 August 2020. The air quality on board corresponds to that in operating theatres in a German hospital due to the direction of air flow and the filters installed. In addition to the service, the boarding and deboarding processes have also been adapted to the special situation, so that in future smaller groups will board and the number of buses to the aircraft will either be increased or, where possible, boarding at the building will be made possible. Customers are also asked to use online check-in. This will ensure that our customers have the highest level of protection during their journey. Guests are asked to behave prudently and in accordance with the hygiene regulations throughout their journey and to take into account the entry requirements of the respective destination and the regulations on their return to Germany.

Condor destinations for summer holiday season 2020:

  • Greece (14):Kalamata, Kavala, Corfu, Kos, Crete, Mykonos, Preveza, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos, Thessaloniki, Volos, Zakynthos
  • Canary Islands (5):Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma
    Balearic Islands (2):Mallorca, Ibiza
  • Cyprus (2):Paphos, Larnaca
  • Andalusia:Jerez de la Frontera
  • Turkey:Antalya
  • Croatia:Split
  • Italy:Lamezia Terme
  • Sardinia:Olbia
  • Germany:Sylt

Condor aircraft photo gallery:

Polish Aviation Group (PGL) withdraws its offer to acquire Condor

Polish Aviation Group (PGL), the parent of LOT Polish Airlines, has announced it is withdrawing from its intention to acquire Condor.

Will Germany nationalize Condor?

Read more from Reuters.

Condor aircraft photo gallery:

Thomas Cook Aviation files for insolvency, 7 aircraft parked

Thomas Cook Aviation, former Air Berlin Aviation and Air Berlin Aeronautics, filed for insolvency (bankruptcy) after Condor cancelled the wet-lease contract with Thomas Cook Aviation (original contract was due to expire on December 31, 2021).

All flights have stopped and seven aircraft (5 A321s and 2 A320s) are now parked at Düsseldorf and Leipzig. All were operated for Condor in the Condor livery.

The airline was established in October 2017 as Air Berlin Aviation GmbH and was taken over by the Thomas Cook Group in order to facilitate rapid growth in Germany after the Air Berlin bankruptcy.

The Thomas Cook Group previously declared bankruptcy in September. However Thomas Cook Aviation continued onward until today.

Reuters: Germany is ready to nationalize Condor, operates repatriation flights

From Reuters:

“The German government stands ready to take over Condor as a deal for the airline to be bought by Polish rival LOT is likely to collapse in the industry turmoil caused by the coronavirus crisis, several people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

LOT agreed in January to buy Condor for about 300 million euros ($328 million) to create a leading European aviation group with more than 20 million passengers a year.

Above Copyright Photo: Rainer Bexten. Condor aircraft parked at Dusseldorf.

But with planes unable to fly because of travel restrictions, compounded by a plunge in demand over fears of contagion, airlines worldwide have grounded most of their fleets, and many have said they need government support to survive.

Last week, airlines urged governments to speed up bailouts to rescue the air transport industry, as they doubled their estimate of 2020 revenue losses from the health crisis to more than $250 billion.

LOT owner PGL has made completion of its takeover deal contingent on certain financial guarantees that the German government considers unacceptable, the sources said, adding no final decision on Condor’s immediate future had been taken.

“LOT has some issues with the deal financing”, one of the people said, while another said a government decision could come as early as this week.

Condor said it was in talks with all parties involved and no decision had been made yet, declining to comment further. PGL and the German economy ministry declined to comment.

Nationalizing Condor would only be for a limited time as Germany aims to restart a sales process as soon as the stranglehold on the travel industry from the coronavirus pandemic has eased, the sources said.”

In other news, Condor made this announcement:

 

Condor has brought almost 67,000 guests back to Germany in the past two weeks. As part of the Federal Foreign Office Airlift and in cooperation with tour operators, Germany’s most popular holiday airline is thus supporting the largest return fligh it operation German history. The return flight schedule of #homewithcondor continues to include classic tourist destinations such as Cuba and the Canary Islands, but also destinations that Condor does not actually fly to, such as Bali, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Nicaragua, Thailand – and even Australia.

Tomorrow morning on Monday morning, a total of four Boeing 767s will land in Australia from Condor in Perth. More than 800 cruise passengers are on board, which Condor will bring home with a stopover in Phuket in close cooperation with the tour operator. The pure flight time from Perth to Frankfurt is expected to be around 20 hours.

For these special flights, the holiday airline has recently set up an aircraft and crew hub in Phuket, Thailand. Condor is also working flat out on further special flights to the Asia-Pacific, South America and Caribbean regions for the coming week, which will be continuously updated in the return flight schedule for the next 72 hours on www.condor.com/travel-updates.

“The largest return flight in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany is also a tour de force for Condor. Almost all the aircraft are in the air to bring as many guests home as possible as quickly as possible. At this point, I would like to pay a big compliment and my greatest respect to the German Foreign Office, which is coordinating this return operation, the tour operators – and of course to the Condor teams on the ground and in the air,” says Ralf Teckentrup, CEO of Condor. “We will also be operating further special flights this week and will maintain our own regular flight schedule with the destinations Seattle, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Jerez de la Frontera, which will ensure basic infrastructural services”.

Seattle is connected to more than 30 cities in the USA, such as Los Angeles or San Francisco, via the long-standing Condor partner airline Alaska Airlines, so that guests can start their journey home to Germany without any complications and US Americans who urgently need to get home from Europe can also fly on via Seattle.

Guests who are still abroad are asked to register with the German Foreign Office or at www.condor.com/fly-home. For all guests with a scheduled departure by April 30, 2020, Condor offers, among other things, a free rebooking of their ticket to any destination in the route network of Condor and its partner airlines at a time of their choice. If you do not want to commit to a date yet, you do not have to. This also applies to passengers with tickets to countries whose entry restrictions have not been extended.

Out of consideration for particularly urgent requests from guests abroad, we still ask that you only contact customer service if the original flight would have taken place within the next 72 hours, or if the respective guest is still abroad.

Condor aircraft photo gallery: