Condor shifts strategy: leaving small US cities for major hubs

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Condor, the German leisure airline known for its striped planes , is changing where it flies.

Once known for summer flights to a host of secondary U.S. destinations — like Anchorage, Baltimore and San Antonio — the Frankfurt-based airline is shifting its strategy to serve larger cities and forge new partnerships following the end of a tie-up with Lufthansa.

"If you have such a huge long-haul fleet at Condor and you have the geographic situation in Germany, obviously you can't operate long-haul fleets without feed," Peter Gerber, Condor's CEO, said at the Routes World conference in Frankfurt on Oct. 21.

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In this context, "feed" refers to passengers connecting from shorter flights onto longer routes. With a large long-haul fleet based in Frankfurt, Condor needs travelers from across Germany and beyond to fill its planes. The airline has been expanding its own network of connecting flights through Frankfurt while also partnering with other carriers to bring additional passengers into its hub.

Condor's biggest new partner is American Airlines. The carriers unveiled an interline agreement in September, allowing travelers to book flights with both airlines on a single ticket and have their checked bags transferred between flights. Reciprocal frequent flyer benefits are not currently part of the equation, but the arrangement allows either carrier to pass off connecting passengers to the other.

Travelers can connect between American and Condor at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and, beginning in May, O'Hare International Airport (ORD).

Condor's sole U.S. addition next year will be new daily flights to ORD from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) from May 14, 2027, through Sept. 12, 2027. The airline will fly an Airbus A330-900 with 30 business class , 64 premium economy and 216 economy seats on the route.

Business class on a Condor A330neo. CONDOR Condor's shifting strategy

Condor's transformation into a hub-and-spoke leisure airline when Lufthansa moved to end a long-standing agreement that would have sent connecting passengers to Condor via Frankfurt, home to Lufthansa's largest hub.

A legal battle over the agreement ensued and continued until 2025, when a court ruled in Lufthansa's favor.

Now, Condor is working to link FRA with what Gerber described as "the most important O and D destinations" — markets where there's strong demand for travel to or from Frankfurt.

The airline has added flights to Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN), London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) from FRA this year, schedules from aviation analytics firm Cirium show.

Gerber added a caveat, however, about competing with Lufthansa at its biggest base: "We will never be able to build up the broadness of the Lufthansa network."

When asked about future long-haul expansion, Gerber said he sees a significant opportunity in Latin America, especially to Mexico.

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Connecting larger US markets to Germany

Condor's history of operating nonstop flights between Europe and mid-size U.S. cities like San Antonio may be coming to a close.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Gerber said that without the connecting passengers from Lufthansa, Condor must focus on larger U.S. markets.

That does not mean Condor will end flights to all of its secondary cities, though. Flights to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) in Alaska and Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon will continue, according to Cirium schedules.

Both airports are major hubs for Alaska Airlines, a longtime Condor partner. Members Alaska Airlines' Atmos Rewards loyalty program can earn and redeem points on Condor flights, giving travelers another incentive to fly the German carrier.

Members of JetBlue's TrueBlue loyalty program can also earn and redeem points on Condor flights.

And, in addition to the American tie-up, Condor has a similar interline agreement with Southwest Airlines .

All these arrangements allow Condor to reach more travelers without having to operate flights to every destination itself.

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