Condor Airlines to expand its service to Frankfurt, moves up 2018 start date
Region’s business leaders tout decision
It isn’t taking Condor Airlines long to grow its presence in Pittsburgh.
Even before its first season of nonstop flights to Frankfurt ends, the German-based carrier has decided to expand service from Pittsburgh International Airport next year.
Condor will start its twiceweekly flights from the Findlay airport on May 18 in 2018, more than a month earlier than this year’s June 23 start. It will end the service Sept. 14, two weeks later than this year’s Sept. 1.
Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International, said Thursday she is “thrilled” with the airline’s decision to expand so soon.
“The market has responded well. They are pleased with how we have performed as a market. They believe there is an opportunity to do as well for a longer season,” she said.
The expansion is very much in keeping with the airline’s operating strategy, Ms. Cassotis said. It typically starts modestly in a new market and then adds service if the demand warrants it.
Condor officials have told her the Pittsburgh flight is performing well compared to the other U.S. markets the airline serves. She said the goal is to get the airline to commit to year-round service.
“This is what we have known all along. There is a market here dying to be served,” she said.
Before Condor arrived in June, Pittsburgh had not had a nonstop flight to Frankfurt since 2004, when US Airways shut down its airport hub. That’s despite the presence of numerous German businesses in the region, many of which have been clamoring for such a flight for years.
Western Pennsylvania currently is home to 125 German
companies, including firms like Covestro, SAP, Robert Bosch LLC, and Lanxess, according to Rachel Mauer, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the German American Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Mauer said the organization was excited about the expansion. Condor, she said, has indicated that it will continue to add service as long as demandremains strong.
“But we have to do our part, too. We have to take the flight and convince them that it’s worth expanding,” she said.
She and Paul Overby, the chamber’s board chairman, said a nonstop flight is important in retaining businesses and attracting new ones to the region. In the past, Ms. Mauer said, it’s been difficult to get even speakers to come from Germany because of the lack of a nonstop connection.
One business that has benefited from the new flight is Covestro, whose world headquarters is in Leverkusen, about a twohour drive from Frankfurt. Spokeswoman Alice Sox said the Robinson-based company averages 300 flights from Pittsburgh to Germany and back a year. Another 250 roundtrip flights originate in Germany.
“For us, having access to nonstop flights out of Pittsburgh is not only more cost efficient, it’s more convenient from a productivity standpoint. It saves our employees time so they can avoid the hassle of multiple stopovers,” she said.
Ms. Sox wasn’t sure how many employees have taken advantage of the Condor flight in its first season. She called the expansion fantastic news, adding the company is hoping that the airline also will increase the frequency of the twiceweekly flight.
So far, it appears that the service has generated a “nice balance” of business and leisure traffic, Ms. Cassotis said.
The airport authority is paying Condor $500,000 over two years for the new service, with the money coming from the state. It also has waived landing fees for two years.