Germany's Condor has added a new route. This could be indicative of the future.
Condor launches New York Route in November 2021
Condor, a German leisure airline, will launch flights to New York City to coincide with the reopening of the United States to foreign-vaccinated citizens. Condor will begin 5x weekly flights between Frankfurt, FRA and New York, JFK starting November 11, 2021. With the following schedule, Condor will fly this route on Mondays and Thursdays as well as Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
DE2016 Frankfurt to New York, departing at 11:10AM and arriving at 2:00PM
DE2017 New York to Frankfurt: 4:25PM departure, 5:50AM arrival (+1 day).
Blocking the flight at 3,856 miles is scheduled for 8hr50min westbound, and 7hr25min Eastbound. Condor will be using a Boeing 767 300 for this route. It has 253 seats including 18 business and 235 economy classes. Condor's 767-300 business class has angled seats. It is not competitive with other airlines, but it is still a leisure airline.
Condors 767-300 Business Class
Condor is becoming more mainstream
Condor was a leisure-oriented airline in the past. Condor is a leisure-oriented airline. Condor probably doesn't consider a fanny bag a personal item because almost everyone has one.
Condor flew to many places in Cuba, Dominican Republic, and other countries before the coronavirus. Condor flew from Frankfurt to Whitehorse which I consider the most random transatlantic route.
Condor is slowly changing, however. Condor currently has a fleet consisting of old 767s. However, Condor's long-haul fleet will soon receive brand new A330-990neos. This will offer a better inflight product.
Condor currently has 767 aircraft in its fleet
When Condor announced its fleet renewal, I wondered if Condor might slowly face Lufthansa for more routes.
Lufthansas has many business markets that are not subject to any competition other than the transatlantic joint venture of the carrier, so there is room for competition
As international travel begins to recover, the lines between what is a business and leisure market are blurred more than ever. Leisure travel is recovering faster.
Condor is facing off against Lufthansa's Eurowings Discover subsidiary in certain markets. This makes those routes more difficult
Condor's cost structure is lower than Lufthansa so it should be able compete in many markets with Lufthansa.
Condor and Lufthansa could go head-tohead on other routes.
Condor's addition of a Frankfurt-to-New York route is fascinating to me. This is the most mainstream Condor has added in a long period. I'm curious to know if these routes will continue to be added in the future or if it is simply a reflection of the shift in travel demand during this pandemic.
Bottom line
Condor will launch 5x weekly flights between Frankfurt, New York and Frankfurt starting November 2021. This coincides with the reopening of the United States to Europeans who have been vaccinated. Condor is expanding to more leisure markets than just niche point to point routes. It's great to see. I'm curious to see if Condor could open more mainstream routes.
What do you think of Condors New York's service?
