Condor Airlines

Infobox_Airline
airline=Condor Airlines
logo=Condor Airlines.svg
logo_size=
fleet_size=34
destinations=68
IATA=DE
ICAO=CFG
callsign=CONDOR
parent=Thomas Cook Group plc
company_slogan = Wir lieben Fliegen (We love To Fly)
founded=1955
headquarters= , Germany
key_people=
hubs=Frankfurt International Airport
focus_cities=Munich International Airport
frequent_flyer=Miles & More
website= http://www.condor.com/

Condor Flugdienst is an airline based in Germany. It is Germany's largest holiday airline, operating services to the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, North America and the Caribbean. Its main base is Frankfurt International Airport, with a hub at Munich International Airportcite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 68 | date= 2007-04-03] .

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, 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.

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. Fact|date=February 2007

On 20 September 2007, airberlin announced that it would acquire Condor in a deal that would give Thomas Cook a 30% stake in airberlin. [" [http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2007-09-20T064735Z_01_L20712876_RTRIDST_0_AIRBERLIN-THOMASCOOK-UPDATE-1.XML Air Berlin seeks to buy Condor, give T. Cook stake] " Reuters, Frankfurt, 20-Sept-2007.]

It was however announced on June 24, 2008 that slowing economies, combined with delays in getting anti-trust approval for the merger, in addition to airberlin's announcement of their grounding of 14 aircraft and nearly 30% reduction in longhaul capacity due to the cutting of several unprofitable routed, has forced the two parties involved to further review the purchase of Condor. [" [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aqdRZee0sNnM&refer=germany Air Berlin, Thomas Cook Review Condor Transaction] " Bloomberg, Frankfurt, 24-June-2008.]

Destinations

Fleet

The Condor Flugdienst fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March 2008):

*11 Airbus A320-212
*1 Airbus A320-214
*13 Boeing 757-300
*9 Boeing 767-300ER

As of|March 2008, the Condor fleet age was 10.1 years old. [ [http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/?file=calcop&opp=Condor Condor Fleet Age] ]

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.

References

External links

* [http://www.condor.com Condor]
* [http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=CFG&al_op=1 Condor Fleet]
* [http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=CFB&al_op=1 Condor Berlin Fleet]