Lufthansa Disputes EC Order to Restore Condor Feeder Traffic

Lufthansa Group has strongly refuted the European Commission’s provisional order to reinstate Condor’s access to feeder flights at Frankfurt International, stating there is no factual or legal foundation for such a decision. In a recent policy brief, Lufthansa highlighted that Condor had contradicted its own claims by establishing alternative flight options.

Condor is set to launch new routes from Frankfurt to key European cities, including Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Prague Václav Havel, and Paris Charles de Gaulle, in addition to twice-daily flights to Berlin Brandenburg, Hamburg, and Munich starting in March. These developments, Lufthansa argues, provide viable alternatives to its feeder flights, undermining Condor’s assertion of having no other options. The airline also mentioned the potential of rail traffic as an alternative feeder method.

Lufthansa’s stance is bolstered by favorable rulings from both the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court and the German Federal Supreme Court. The latter court criticized the Federal Cartel Office for not conducting its administrative proceedings impartially and without political influence.

Additionally, Lufthansa pointed out that other carriers like Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines also operate transatlantic routes from Frankfurt, indicating that competition remains robust. The German airline expressed surprise over the Commission’s decision, noting that this case had been reviewed by the German Federal Cartel Office in 2020 and the Federal Court of Justice in 2024.

Despite previous attempts to terminate the Special Prorate Agreement (SPA) with Condor—which dates back to Condor’s time within the Lufthansa Group—the EU’s competition watchdog has raised concerns that eliminating these feeder flights could jeopardize competition on routes like Frankfurt to New York, particularly given the A++ transatlantic joint venture involving Lufthansa, Air Canada, and United Airlines. Lufthansa discontinued the SPA in December following authorization from the Bundesgerichtshof, which overturned a prior decision by the Federal Cartel Office.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com