Condor Flugdienst
 |
||||
|
||||
| Founded | 1955 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Frankfurt Airport | |||
| Focus cities | ||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Miles & More | |||
| Fleet size | 34 | |||
| Destinations | 73 | |||
| Company slogan |
Wir lieben Fliegen. (German)
Born to fly. (international) |
|||
| Parent company | Thomas Cook Group | |||
| Headquarters | Kelsterbach, Germany | |||
| Website | http://www.condor.com/ | |||
Condor Flugdienst, usually shortened to Condor, is an airline based in Germany. Condor operates services to the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, North America and the Caribbean. Its main base is Frankfurt Airport, with a second one at Munich Airport[1]. and the caribbean Focus City at Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. . It is headquartered in Kelsterbach, Hesse, with an office in Oberursel, Hesse.[2] It was owned by Lufthansa, but is acquired by the Thomas Cook Group.
Contents |
[edit] History
The airline was established on 21 December 1955, as Deutsche Flugdienst GmbH, and started operations on 28 March 1956. A slump in the charter market in early 1960 led to its takeover by Lufthansa and the change of name to Condor Flugdienst on 25 October 1961[1], during which time it operated four Vickers Viscount and two Fokker F27 aircraft.
From 1965 to 1969 Condor saw enormous growth as it transitioned to an all-jet fleet. Its first jet was a Boeing 727, followed in 1967 by a Boeing 707, and by 1969 a Douglas DC-8, several 727s, and three Boeing 737s were added to its fleet. This was followed by a Boeing 747 in 1971, shortly after which time the airline began service to North America. Hit hard by the 1970s fuel crisis, the airline got rid of its 747s and added three McDonnell Douglas DC-10 planes for its long-haul routes, with Airbus A300 planes added in 1981.
Around the 1980s and 1990s it was headquartered in Neu-Isenburg, Hesse.[3][4]
During the early 1990s it upgraded its fleet with Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 planes. At this point it was a major player in the charter airline world, flying to 65 exotic destinations and major cities worldwide. It was amalgamated with Südflug in August 1992.
C&N Touristic, the parent company of Condor, was renamed Thomas Cook AG following C&N's acquisition of the UK tour group. In March 2003 the airline was rebranded Thomas Cook - Powered by Condor as part of the group's rebranding. Condor Berlin was absorbed into Thomas Cook AG during the rebranding in March 2003. However, the branding was reversed in May 2004 and a new CEO decided to use the old and very traditional name Condor again.[citation needed]
On 20 September 2007, Air Berlin announced that it intended to acquire Condor in a deal that would give Thomas Cook a 30% stake in Air Berlin,[5] however on 24 June 2008 it was announced that slowing economies, combined with delays in getting anti-trust approval for the merger and Air Berlin's announcement of their grounding of 14 aircraft and nearly 30% reduction in longhaul capacity, forced the two parties involved to further review the purchase.[6]
On 10 February 2008, Thomas Cook confirmed it would buy Lufthansa's 24.9% stake in the airline, exercising an option agreed in 2007. The takeover, at a cash price of 77.19 million euros (£68 million), gave the Thomas Cook Group sole ownership of Condor, ending 48 years of Lufthansa involvement in Germany's biggest charter carrier.[7]
[edit] Destinations
[edit] Fleet
| Aircraft | activ | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 12 | First Delivery 17.02.1998 / average age of 10.1 years |
| Boeing 757-300 | 13 | First Delivery 10.03.1999 / average age of 10,4 years |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 9 | First Delivery 30.07.1991 / average age of 16,6 years |
| Total | 34 | average age of 12,0 years (January 2010)[8] |
[edit] Livery
Condor's livery consists of the word "Condor" written in blue across the all-white fuselage of the airplane, in the same style as on Thomas Cook planes. The tail is painted with the Thomas Cook logo on a blue background, the same as planes flying under the Thomas Cook name. In the 1990s, Condor's livery reflected that of Lufthansa, with an all white fuselage airplane, the letters "Condor" written in black on top of the front windows, and an all yellow tail with Condor's logo of a blue bird inside a blue circle, very similar to Lufthansa's 1970s logo.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 68. 2007-04-03.
- ^ "How to find us." Condor Airlines. Retrieved on 12 May 2009.
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 30 March 1985. 70." Retrieved on 17 June 2009.
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 24-30 March 1993. 84." Retrieved on 30 September 2009.
- ^ "Air Berlin seeks to buy Condor, give T. Cook stake" Reuters, Frankfurt, 20-Sept-2007.
- ^ "Air Berlin, Thomas Cook Review Condor Transaction" Bloomberg, Frankfurt, 24-June-2008.
- ^ Thomas Cook to buy Lufthansa stake in charter airline
- ^ airfleets.net: Flottenalter der Condor 22 January 2010
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Condor Flugdienst |
|
|||||||
