Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) has welcomed German airline Condor Airlines for seasonal summer flights to Frankfurt, Germany since 2017. The direct flights have been popular and were a boon to New Orleans positioning itself as an international destination for business and pleasure travel.
Last September, that service seemed in jeopardy when Condor’s British parent company, Thomas Cook Group, suffered financial collapse and left thousands of travelers stranded. Condor was able to secure a six-month bridging loan from the German Federal Government with the approval of the European Union Commission in October 2019, and in December, it was announced the airline would be returning service to New Orleans once again.
The 380 million-euro loan is helping Condor weather the traditionally weaker winter bookings in preparation for an increase in summer travel.
“Condor thus has the necessary liquidity to bridge the winter season and continue business operations in full,” said German provisional administrator Prof. Dr. Lucas Flöther in an October statement. “The Condor management will now work out a restructuring plan in order to use the shielding procedure to align and set up Condor for a future without Thomas Cook. This plan is then to be adopted in the proceedings opened, which are expected to begin in December. I am confident that at the end of this process a new partner will be found for Condor that will secure a sustainable future for the airline and enable further growth.”
In November, the airline reported increases in operating profit and passenger bookings, with a six percent increase in revenue to 1.7 billion euro. Recently, it announced it is partnering with Polish Aviation Group.
“We are an operationally healthy and profitable company. Our key figures and the further increase in profit underline this. Condor is thus further expanding its market leadership in the leisure airline business,” said Condor CEO Ralf Teckentrup in a statement.
The flights from MSY to Frankfurt can be booked now for itineraries from May to September, 2020. The twice-weekly service occurs on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The 9.5-hour flight departs New Orleans Wednesdays at 8:25 p.m. and Saturdays at 8:35 p.m. Inbound flights arrive from Frankfurt on Wednesdays at 6:25 p.m. and Saturdays at 4:50 p.m. As of the time of writing, roundtrip Economy tickets can be had for under $900 and roundtrip business tickets are approximately $1,700.
Condor is running a special through Thursday, Feb. 13 to save $50 on any Condor flight using the voucher code summerineurope50. Flights can be booked online at www.condor.com.
