Hamburg-Malta route revival with Condor

Matthias A. Merzhäuser German airline Condor has added the route between Hamburg and Malta to its summer 2017 schedule. The scheduled service will be operated twice weekly (Wednesdays and Sundays) using an Airbus A320 aircraft.

By having been able to attract Condor for the redevelopment of the route, destination Malta can combine tour operators with their inclusive packages with low-fare flight-only sales that can be bought via a diverse array of channels and of course, the airline itself as well.

Unlike with Air Malta, which only provides all-inclusive tickets, there are checked luggage charges with Condor if buying a flight-only ticket. But the extra on the basic fare (no checked luggage) is just €10 per sector.

Catchment area

Hamburg’s catchment area consists not only of the very large city itself, but also the state of Schleswig Holstein, the adjoining areas of north-west German agrarian Niedersachsen state, and areas of the poor Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (ex GDR) state. Hamburg is a rather prosperous port city state.

It is northern-Germany’s central airport, supplemented by Bremen airport, which caters more conveniently for northern and western Niedersachsen state (and the tiny Bremen city state of course) and Hannover for the eastern part of Niedersachsen.

The Hamburg metropolitan area has five million inhabitants, thus is comparable to Berlin, but with generally higher incomes.

Hamburg-bound tourists certainly also appreciate the maritime but Mediterranean flair of the Grand Harbour, while maybe Maltese nightlife fans might find Hamburg’s St Pauli district a change from Paceville and others might want to relax in the rural areas or do business.

Route history

Air Malta had been serving Ham- burg continuously since 1992 (add a scheduled period in the early 1980s before that), sometimes combining it with Leipzig when winter loads were not so good.

Unfortunately, Air Malta dropped the route in May, despite generally very good load factors and cheaper fuel, due maybe to yields or their three-hour flight time dogma, since flying time is just over that figure, or another reason (to be discussed below), or some short-term accounting, or all of the above combined. Furthermore, due to the imposition of the EU-approved rescue plan that was worked out through an audit/accounting firm, Air Malta was forced to have a smaller fleet than it might have been able to fill at the moment, meaning growth has also been taken up by highly subsidised competitors from the low-cost sector.

Current alternatives

For non-stop Air Malta flights, people from the Hamburg area now have to drive 300kms east to Berlin (with extremely expensive parking) or 400 kms southwest to Düsseldorf as the nearest alternatives.

Ryanair’s Billund airport is 280kms to the north. It is a very viable option for passengers from Schleswig-Holstein state, north of Hamburg, and thanks to free borders can be reached just as quickly by car while flying from a small, compact airport with cheap parking possibilities – definitely the quicker-to-reach airport for at least half of that state.

But there are also opportunities to travel from Hamburg via Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels Amsterdam or Paris, with feeder flights from Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Austrian and Air France/KLM connecting to either the Lufthansa/Swiss or, so far, Air Malta flights.

Hence, to take the politically prominently used term, in particular Lufthansa group carriers are doing the ‘dirty work feeders’ of connecting this airport to Air Malta’s flights.

Nevertheless, for the average tourist the twice non-stop weekly frequency will do the job perfectly.

Hamburg axed for Berlin?

Air Malta might have given up Hamburg to have the capacity to increase flights to Berlin, which has the same catchment area headcount but less affluence, and which also has Ryanair parallel flights. The Berlin move might be a preparation for Etihad/Alitalia with more flights to one of the two key Air Berlin hubs, as Air Berlin is an Etihad equity partner as well.

Hamburg is an interesting catchment area for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) tourism for Malta, with Malta being head office location for many firms from the energy, maritime and media industries, some already operating in Malta, such as the parent of Oil Tanking.

Clearly, the axing by what is currently the state-owned airline of Malta of a well-loaded route to one of the continent’s key maritime and aviation industry hubs is incongruous, with the state market- ing Malta as a hub for these industries.

True enough, one is looking for new market frontiers, e.g. Maltese entrepreneurs and workers are being told to look for luck in, say, Lebanon. We also remember the big ‘aviation’ delegation to Ukraine and, yes, we could also all follow in the press who would profit in particular from, for example, the Algeria flights while costing Air Malta a lot of money. ALPA definitely also had a point suggesting the publication of certain, e.g. non-local people holding key positions, which might reveal some ugly details from a firm that usually claimed to have no money - or that wants everything for nothing from some while throwing tons of money at others.

Condor’s long history with Malta

Condor has a long history in Malta. It was particularly active from Düsseldorf and Frankfurt during the 1990s with its mainstay 220-seat Boeing 757-200s, but sometimes even the McDonnellDouglas DC-10 wide-body jet with 400 seats. On Sundays, when business scheduled routes had less frequency, Lufthansa planes were sub-contracted as well.

The 60-year-old carrier, named after the giant Andes bird, is a full subsidiary of the Thomas Cook Group travel concern.

Condor: additional North American connectivity from Frankfurt

Condor has an impressive route network from Frankfurt for the US and Canada, with non-stop flights from Frankfurt ranging from Fairbanks, Alaska way down to Austin, Texas, and from Halifax to Whitehorse in Canada. The carrier primarily serves niche routes not served by Lufthansa or the North American networkers, but sometimes also goes head-to-head, providing very competitive fares.

While in Germany, Lufthansa handles the domestic feeder flights, in North America it is West Jet, Sun Country, and Alaska Airlines that provide onward connectivity.

Condor’s 39-strong fleet comprises the 180-seat Airbus A320 and the 210-seat A321 and the 275seat Boeing 757-300 for European and shorter non-Euro routes, as well as the 260-seat Boeing 767300ERs for intercontinental flights.

The Frankfurt question

Clearly, in the event of a reduction in the number of Frankfurt flights if our national airline is sold for one euro to Alitalia/Etihad, meaning a possible end to the cooperation with Lufthansa, and that the highly valuable slot assets would be taken up by the new owners themselves, a replacement with Condor could be the first choice due to combining traditional tour operator tours, seatonly options and a (limited) potential transatlantic connectivity.

Not only due to the possible impacts of Brexit, with potential impact on UK loads but also further increased economic relevance of Frankfurt, Air Malta’s Frankfurt route should. In any event, be regarded as a key strategic asset of the company and country.

Too much traditional “Air Malta territory” has already been ceded to (subsidised) competition which has clearly had an impact on the yields on neighbouring routes. Profits also suffer on routes if one cuts precisely the most important days of operation or ends partnerships that have been very beneficial for both airline and country.

A wrong decision on Frankfurt might fly back in Air Malta’s face in a very ugly way.