Germany is a country that’s very much dominated by Lufthansa Group, with the only real national competitor being Condor, which doesn’t belong to one of the major airline groups.
Condor and Lufthansa have had a complicated relationship for a long time, and for the past couple of years, they’ve been engaged in a legal battle. This has now been settled, and it’s bad news for Condor and competition. Or I suppose to look at this more optimistically, maybe this is what it takes to push Condor to become a better competitor?
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The complicated Condor & Lufthansa relationship
There’s a lot of history between Germany’s two largest airlines, Lufthansa and Condor. When Condor was founded back in 1955, Lufthansa was actually a shareholder in the company, and the airlines cooperated closely. Lufthansa basically viewed Condor as its leisure partner.
Over time that changed, and in the early 2000s, Lufthansa sold its Condor shares to Thomas Cook. When Thomas Cook went out of business, Condor ultimately became independent.
It has been a really exciting several years for Condor, as the airline has evolved in an incredible way. For example, Condor has replaced its outdated Boeing 767-300ERs with Airbus A330-900neos, offering an impressive passenger experience. Furthermore, the airline has increasingly started competing more directly with Lufthansa in long haul markets, flying between Frankfurt (FRA) and major cities in North America, ranging from Los Angeles (LAX), to Miami (MIA), to New York (JFK).
Here’s the thing, though — Condor has been reliant on Lufthansa. Frankfurt isn’t actually a huge market independently (especially for a leisure airline!), but rather the reason it’s such a big aviation hub is because of the size of Lufthansa’s presence there.
Historically, Lufthansa has provided feeder traffic for Condor, at specially negotiated prices, allowing Condor to fill its planes with passengers connecting to and from Lufthansa flights. In other words, if you’re flying from Rome to Seattle, Condor will sell you a ticket with the Rome to Frankfurt segment on Lufthansa, and the Frankfurt to Seattle segment on Condor.
So, why would Lufthansa agree to provide feeder traffic for Condor, its biggest competitor in the country? Well, because it has legally been required to do so. The government has required Lufthansa to provide this reasonably priced connectivity to Condor in order to ensure competition in Germany. For years, Lufthansa has been trying to get out of this arrangement, as you might expect, and in the past couple of years, this has been challenged in the courts. There’s now a major update…
Regulators allow Lufthansa cut ties with Condor
For years, Lufthansa has been in court trying to get the right to discontinue its feeder relationship with Condor. In late December 2024, the airline succeeded, as Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled in favor of Lufthansa, and against Condor and anti-trust authorities.
On the surface, this meant that Condor was no longer entitled to preferential pricing on Lufthansa feeder flights. However, Lufthansa’s victory didn’t last for long, at least initially.
In January 2025, the European Commission informed Lufthansa that it needed to reinstate its feeder agreement with Condor, at least as an interim measure. Why? Well, the European Commission alleged that Lufthansa’s transatlantic joint venture (which also includes Air Canada, United, etc.) unfairly restricted competition, particularly in the Frankfurt to New York market.
However, that relief didn’t last for long, as there’s now an update. The European Commission has ultimately decided not to move forward with acting on this investigation, and that means that Lufthansa can proceed in terminating its agreement with Condor. Most legal avenues that Condor could pursue have been exhausted at this point.
How will Condor move forward without Lufthansa?
A large percentage of Condor’s long haul passengers connect to or from Lufthansa flights. If Lufthansa now cuts ties with Condor, it seems like it would be devastating for the airline. Yes, Condor is actually starting to operate more feeder flights, presumably in the highest demand markets.
For example, the airline flies from Frankfurt to places like Berlin (BER), Milan (MXP), Prague (PRG), Rome (FCO), and Zurich (ZRH). But even that comes nowhere close to fully making up for the amount of connectivity that has been lost.
Condor is a well run airline nowadays, and ultimately I trust the current management team will find a way to evolve. Obviously transatlantic leisure demand is huge, but Americans usually want to visit Greece, Italy, and Spain, and not Germany. 😉 And interestingly for long haul flights, Condor seems to be much more popular with a US point of sale than a European point of sale.
Furthermore, as much as Condor is a well run carrier, ultimately German aviation just doesn’t have as low of a cost structure as some other European carriers, like Air Serbia, LOT Polish Airlines, and others, when it comes to serving connecting traffic. This is true in terms of airport fees, salaries, etc.
For Lufthansa, this still seems like it might be a case of “careful what you wish for,” and of winning the battle but losing the war. If Lufthansa chooses to terminate its feeder flight agreement with Condor, one certainly assumes that Condor might get more creative, and might align more closely with another major airline group, potentially greatly increasing competition in Germany.
We’ve seen a lot of consolidation in recent times involving the “big three” European airline groups. The leading theory is that perhaps IAG (the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, etc.) might be interested in investing in Condor. In addition to that, could we maybe seen Condor join the oneworld alliance, and possibly even the oneworld transatlantic joint venture?
Or could Air France-KLM be interested in Condor? Admittedly it wouldn’t necessarily be an easy investment to make work, but competitively, I could see merit to it.
The challenge is that even with an airline investment or an alliance, it doesn’t really address Condor’s underlying challenge — the airline is based at an airport with limited regional connectivity on its own metal, and without a huge amount of origin & destination traffic.
Bottom line
Condor and Lufthansa have been in a heated dispute over the special relationship that the two airlines have. Condor has been reliant on Lufthansa for feeder traffic within Europe. Lufthansa hasn’t been happy with this arrangement for years, but it was required to ensure competition in the country.
Lufthansa has for years been trying to end this agreement, and it seems the airline has now been successful. So Lufthansa has the right to terminate its agreement with Condor, which is going to put Condor in a bind, given its route network.
It’s anyone’s guess how this plays out, but it sure seems like something major is going to have to change at the airline. Whether that involves Condor growing its own regional network, joining a major airline group, or whatever, remains to be seen.
What do you make of this major battle in German aviation?
I assume this is related to the sad fact that the last Condor nonstop MIA - FRA is on October 28, 2025....I'm devastated, having used this flight 10 times in the past year and a half. I refuse to fly LH 463 business class. 4 weeks ago I got LH First, everything was so old and worn out, the food was borderline inedible, sad, that the little competition they had is going away. I hope that Condor finds a way to give LH a run for their money.
I liked Air Berlin when it was in Oneworld. Easy to redeem AA miles for flights to Berlin from JFK. Maybe Condor can become what Air Berlin was trying to be, which is Germany’s #2 carrier and a reliable connecting partner in the Oneworld alliance.
Hamburg is Germany's second largest city and there are zero non-stop flights to North America. Zero. There aren't many non-stop flights from Berlin to North America other than Newark or seasonal to JFK.
Berlin to Hamburg is under 3hrs by train so maybe people would rather take the train to Hamburg and fly to LA or Miami for example non-stop than change planes at JFK or Newark.
Who needs to go to Hamburg when we have Shake Shack.
"Berlin to Hamburg is under 3hrs by train so maybe people would rather take the train to Hamburg and fly to LA or Miami for example non-stop than change planes at JFK or Newark."
You don't think airlines would've figured that out, if that were the case?
Continental, Delta, United, Emirates, etc have all flown nonstops between Hamburg and the USA in relatively recent times. None found it worthwhile to continue.
The German market should support a second carrier, as long as it is selective in its offering, not duplicating LH. It also helps that LH has deteriorated tremendously in terms of service level.
@Andy...I totally agree on your first point. As for your second point...LH do one or two things well (e.g. route network). But as for service levels, I don't see a deterioration because, well, they've been average/bad for decades. It's basically LH plodding along and just being...LH. They're like the Qantas of Europe: overrated, underwhelming, dated, expensive, and relying on past glory.
LOT Polish Airlines should restart their purchase of Condor, now at a lower valuation, and fix the poor quality (starting with the joke that Condor calls “premium” economy), or at a minimum, decline preferential feeder flights as well (Condor still appears to get super low pricing on LO flights) and rapidly grow LO independently.
Without LH or LO, Condor has effectively no path forward for feeder flights other than maybe a DB Rail partnership but...
LOT Polish Airlines should restart their purchase of Condor, now at a lower valuation, and fix the poor quality (starting with the joke that Condor calls “premium” economy), or at a minimum, decline preferential feeder flights as well (Condor still appears to get super low pricing on LO flights) and rapidly grow LO independently.
Without LH or LO, Condor has effectively no path forward for feeder flights other than maybe a DB Rail partnership but that only applies in Germany.
They used to at least be a low-cost airline in Business Class. Now they are just an overpriced, half baked offering that brings little pricing competition for the quality. For example, Condor is far from being ZipAir when it comes to introducing truly competitive pricing.
I happen to agree that LH shouldn't be required to give Condor preferential pricing but they do need to be required to give them access to their inventory on industry-standard terms - as is happening.
FRA does need to provide some reasonable level of slots for Condor to feed its own longhaul flights.
and ultimately, Condor might end up like Virgin Atlantic which had to align w/ a larger carrier that can provide feed or...
I happen to agree that LH shouldn't be required to give Condor preferential pricing but they do need to be required to give them access to their inventory on industry-standard terms - as is happening.
FRA does need to provide some reasonable level of slots for Condor to feed its own longhaul flights.
and ultimately, Condor might end up like Virgin Atlantic which had to align w/ a larger carrier that can provide feed or as part of a alliance, potentially w/ a change in product to be more legacy-like at least for longhaul flights.
oneworld and SkyTeam would both love to a player in Germany
It could be a blessing in disguise when you see when you see how LH seems to go from blunder to blunder and creates an airline every week!
I was thinking of Air Transat and its Connectair system adding 275 destinations to its portfolio, using low cost and full service airlines. Condor may look at something similar to create seamless services.
"Bad News For Consumers" should be the default "save-get" for every airline operations change
Ben, Condor still is able to use Lufthansa’s fees flights, but at the same conditions like other airlines use them.
The court's decision was absolutely correct. What else does Condor want to do against Lufthansa? Can't they accept that everything was and is legal? Why should they allow their competitor to enjoy such favorable conditions for feeder flights?
Lufthansa clearly has the advantage: The Higher Regional Court has confirmed that no special treatment...
Ben, Condor still is able to use Lufthansa’s fees flights, but at the same conditions like other airlines use them.
The court's decision was absolutely correct. What else does Condor want to do against Lufthansa? Can't they accept that everything was and is legal? Why should they allow their competitor to enjoy such favorable conditions for feeder flights?
Lufthansa clearly has the advantage: The Higher Regional Court has confirmed that no special treatment is necessary compared to Condor; neither the Federal Cartel Office nor the EU Commission currently sees any legal obligation for Lufthansa to give Condor preferential treatment. Condor lacks a strategy and will get bogged down with its new city routes; some of the flights are very poorly utilized, leading to even greater losses. Then they're also busy in Frankfurt, the German airport with the toughest competition, flying to New York, for example, where, in addition to Lufthansa and United, Delta and Singapore Airlines are already operating at competitive prices. Bangkok is just such a route. And then Condor complains about a lack of competition. Things are getting tight for Condor. They have the investor Attestor on their side.
Unlike Lufthansa, Condor has until 2026 to repay its government loans stemming from the pandemic; Lufthansa has already completed this since 2021. Condor still faces numerous challenges, and today's decision doesn't make them any easier.
There are a few ways that Condor could go here. For one, I see potential in more service to/from Berlin, Germany's largest city. LH really only serves it as a spoke and there's certainly potential for mid to long haul services on certain big routes (NY, LA, Bangkok, CPT etc). There's also potential to provide more services from industrial, yet affluent, western German cities like Cologne, Dusseldorf, or Essen/Dortmund. Potential demand in these areas for...
There are a few ways that Condor could go here. For one, I see potential in more service to/from Berlin, Germany's largest city. LH really only serves it as a spoke and there's certainly potential for mid to long haul services on certain big routes (NY, LA, Bangkok, CPT etc). There's also potential to provide more services from industrial, yet affluent, western German cities like Cologne, Dusseldorf, or Essen/Dortmund. Potential demand in these areas for routes that are above what the likes of ULCCs offer. Again, longer flights that you'd otherwise have to connect via FRA/MUC or another European hub.
Germany is a market with prosperity, so the potential to compete better with LH does exist. Based on recent reviews, Condor seems to have a better product nowadays.
I forgot to mention exploring other key European cities that are underserved for longer haul flying.
It certainly seems more sensible to have a different hub than LH (or Eurowings)
As you say, routes like BER-NYC or HAM-BKK being non-stop would have an appeal over connecting in FRA (in which case one might as well fly LH for the heavier schedules)
They could effectively step into the shoes of Air Berlin (killed by the delay opening BER, but the airport is open now)
"For one, I see potential in more service to/from Berlin, Germany's largest city"
There's a REASON that Berlin has a paltry of long-haul service, despite being a massive population catchment. The corporate traffic is limit, leisure traffic is seasonal, and the yields on both are garbage.
If that were to be Condor's great plan, then Air Berlin is waiting for them on the other side.
Nothing stops Condor from flying Rome - New York, or Paris - Salt Lake City. Or anywhere in the EU to anywhere in the US.
@ Fred Q Blogs -- For sure, and maybe just adjusting capacity to a market outside of Germany is the best bet. The challenge is that just operating one-off flights from other countries is unlikely to be successful, given the competition.
Also most iag/Oneworld Airlines are to the west of Germany, which isn't helpful if they're trying to find feeder traffic for their flights to the US
I think perhaps we might see them launch direct service to the US from non-german cities
@ Al -- Yeah, it wouldn't be useful for oneworld in terms of feed, but I think the geography of Germany is a reason that IAG could benefit from Condor in its portfolio of airlines, in terms of having better coverage.
@Ben , I think that you tend to conflate alliances with JVs despite being well-versed in their differences.
I don't think Condor are a good fit for oneworld. They mostly go West which is where that alliance is strong (BA/AA to the USA, IB to the Caribbean/Latin America) and don't have much traffic to the East or the South where the alliance is much weaker than the competition (Rwandair and UL anyone?).
They, and the...
@Ben , I think that you tend to conflate alliances with JVs despite being well-versed in their differences.
I don't think Condor are a good fit for oneworld. They mostly go West which is where that alliance is strong (BA/AA to the USA, IB to the Caribbean/Latin America) and don't have much traffic to the East or the South where the alliance is much weaker than the competition (Rwandair and UL anyone?).
They, and the consumer, would be better off joining forces with LOT, TK/UX, or even Aegean, adding both connectivity and scale to the combined operations. Now all those are *A members and LH would definitely want to keep them out of the alliance, but Aer Lingus are fine being in a JV without belonging to an alliance.
As mentioned, Condor has improved a lot over the past few years. Lufthansa seems to be actively getting worse from a customer perspective, and just about everything the airline has done lately - from its failed business class rollout to delayed Boeing aircraft deliveries - has been a dumpster fire.
I think Germany has room for a stronger second carrier, and would love to see Condor continue to expand its feeder network and growing list...
As mentioned, Condor has improved a lot over the past few years. Lufthansa seems to be actively getting worse from a customer perspective, and just about everything the airline has done lately - from its failed business class rollout to delayed Boeing aircraft deliveries - has been a dumpster fire.
I think Germany has room for a stronger second carrier, and would love to see Condor continue to expand its feeder network and growing list of partners. The bar that their competitor sets is very low, I hope Condor can seize that opportunity.
I don't think there's an easy answer.
FRA doesn't have the same catchment area as LHR or CDG.
Condor could fly from Dusseldorf and Berlin to have a better catchment area within Germany - but are these cities attractive as destinations to US travellers? Demand needs to be created at both the Origin and Destination.
Definitely in summer they would benefit from flying to Athens, Rome, Naples Héraklion and so on. Definitely a partnership with Aegean could be useful while flying to Italy on their on metal. Possibly using a A330-neo for the short return flight to Rome right after the bank of landings from the US.
They need to put their money where their mouth is. If POS is from the IS they need to understand where those...
Definitely in summer they would benefit from flying to Athens, Rome, Naples Héraklion and so on. Definitely a partnership with Aegean could be useful while flying to Italy on their on metal. Possibly using a A330-neo for the short return flight to Rome right after the bank of landings from the US.
They need to put their money where their mouth is. If POS is from the IS they need to understand where those customers come from and want to go and how to make that easier for them.
In semi-related news it appears DE can now be booked with B6 miles
And you think EU would be more progressive on antitrust and monopolies.
It's all propaganda.
If creative thinking is the name of the game, maybe they could team up with the Transavias...