Condor Flugdienst
Germany · CONDOR · Active
Airline Identity
History
Condor was founded on 21 December 1955 as Deutsche Flugdienst GmbH, a joint venture of four German transport and travel companies, and began charter flying in 1956 with a pilgrimage flight to the Holy Land followed by holiday routes to Egypt, Majorca and Tenerife. The airline pioneered wide-body leisure flying in Germany, introducing the Boeing 747 in 1971, and by the early 1970s had become Europe's leading vacation airline. Condor operated for years under the Lufthansa group's umbrella and later, through European tourism-industry consolidation in the 2000s, became the German airline arm of the Thomas Cook Group. When Thomas Cook Group collapsed into compulsory liquidation in September 2019, Condor was shielded from its parent's insolvency through German government-backed bridge financing and continued flying uninterrupted while it searched for a new owner. In 2021 European asset manager Attestor became Condor's majority owner, and the airline has since operated as an independent carrier, undergoing a full rebrand with a distinctive striped livery in 2022 and relocating its headquarters to Frankfurt's Gateway Gardens complex in March 2026.
Current Operations
Condor is transitioning to an all-Airbus fleet, retiring its older Boeing long-haul jets in favor of 18 new Airbus A330neo widebodies for transatlantic and long-haul leisure routes, alongside 43 incoming A320neo-family narrowbodies (a mix of A320neo and A321neo) for short- and medium-haul flying, with deliveries running through 2029. The airline operates primarily as a leisure and tour-operator-linked carrier from three German bases - Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC) and Duesseldorf (DUS) - connecting German holidaymakers to Mediterranean beach destinations, the Canary Islands, and long-haul points in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and North America. Condor is not a member of any of the three major global alliances and now operates independently of the Lufthansa Group despite its earlier corporate history. Recent developments include a July 2025 sponsorship partnership with football club Eintracht Frankfurt and continued network growth from its German bases as the carrier marked its 70th anniversary in 2025-2026. The airline remains privately owned by Attestor following its post-Thomas Cook rescue and stabilization.
Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.