Condor: the German leisure airline's renewed poise

Condor Flugdienst, Germany's leading independent leisure airline, has a renewed confidence and sense of purpose after a challenging half-decade.

Five years ago its then parent company (Thomas Cook Group) collapsed, not long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. An aborted acquisition by LOT Polish Airlines' owner left Condor needing state aid to see it through, until the investment firm Attestor bought a 51% stake in 2021.

Since then the airline has embarked on a significant fleet modernisation programme, phasing out ageing Boeings in favour of new Airbus equipment. This process should be complete by 2029.

Condor has not quite returned to its 2019 capacity levels, but a number of route launches in 2024 - and planned for 2025 - indicate that it has an appetite for growth.

Moreover, after losing codeshare partners from the Thomas Cook years, Condor is now welcoming new collaborators. It started codeshares with Alaska Airlines last year, then with WestJet in Jun-2024, and will begin a new agreement with Emirates Airline in Oct-2024.

Condor is starting to live the boldness of the new stripy liveries that it introduced in 2022.