Fill Frankfurt seats so more flights will take off

The news of our first transatlantic flight to Germany via Condor Airlines continues to reverberate.

It's an understatement to say securing a nonstop flight to Europe was a huge win. The behind-thescenes heavy lifting by San Antonio city staff and business leaders may never be fully appreciated, but these leaders invested a monumental amount of time and resources to land Condor.

Now that San Antonio has its first European nonstop flight, it's our turn to fill up those seats to Frankfurt, Germany.

I have more than 40 years experience flying in and out of Germany as a military brat, Air Force officer, businessman and tourist. Frankfurt remains one of my favorite destinations to fly for a variety of reasons.

First, you can fly from Frankfurt to practically anywhere in Europe. It is one the largest — if not the largest — hubs on the European continent with connections across Europe, as well as most destinations in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

There are 300 connections out of Frankfurt to 90 countries. In the past, flyers from San Antonio to these distant destinations have taken three different flights with two long layovers.

And a connecting flight is just one of your options. You might want to travel within Europe via its high-speed rail. As luck would have it, there is a high-speed train station in the Frankfurt terminal facility. If high-speed rail is not thrilling enough for you, rent a car at the Frankfurt terminal and head out to the autobahn, famous for sections where drivers can drive as fast as they want.

For the business traveler, Condor offers direct connections via Frankfurt to London, Paris, Asia and other popular destinations.

Frankfurt also has become a hopping-off point for business travelers to many of Germany's industrial giants. Germanybased Traton Group, for example, has a subsidiary named Navistar based in the San Antonio area.

More broadly, there is a connection between our San Antonio-based Toyota suppliers and the likes of German auto manufacturers such as Mercedes Benz and Porsche.

In addition to automakers, Germany has numerous pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer and Novartis that will make attractive partners to San Antonio's growing bio- and pharma industries.

Finally, there are obvious connections between San Antonio's military missions and the enormous Defense Department footprint in Germany. There should be no shortage of activeduty military and their dependents taking advantage of the Condor nonstop to Frankfurt.

Of note, Condor's code share agreement with U.s.-based Alaskan Airlines will allow U.S. military personnel to travel to Germany and back on military orders.

I am a “million miler” airline passenger and lifelong international traveler who has spent hundreds of hours stuck in airports on long layovers. Flying nonstop to Germany without a layover means we have a quicker way to get across the Atlantic, which translates to a faster and more convenient way to get to Europe, Africa and South Asia.

Given that and the reality that this route will only be a success if we use it, you should book a flight. The initial service is “seasonal.” Condor will operate the nonstop service from May to September. But if Condor regularly fills those seats, it could expand the service with global implications for San Antonio.