Condor Airlines made waves this spring when it unveiled its new candy-striped planes. But perhaps more impressive than the look of the aircraft are the prices for the flights. Last week, the German low-cost carrier launched nonstop flights from Boston to Frankfurt with airfares as low as $265 each way, bringing affordable fares to fliers traveling between the East Coast and Germany. The Boston flights are part of a much larger expansion of U.S. service from Condor, just in time for the summer travel season.
The new route between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Frankfurt Airport (FRA), which launched on May 23, is now operating three times per week—on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—on A330-200 aircraft.
The Boston launch coincided with Condor’s first flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Frankfurt. As of May 24, Condor is offering thrice weekly service (on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays) between L.A and Frankfurt on Boeing 767-300 aircraft. On May 19, Condor also launched service between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Frankfurt with service on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, also on Boeing 767-300 planes. Condor’s international service features economy, premium, and business-class seats. One-way West Coast fares start as low as $319.
With the addition of Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, Condor now flies directly to 16 North America gateways (12 in the U.S. and 4 in Canada):
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Boston
- Fairbanks, Alaska
- Halifax, Canada
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- New York City
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Portland, Oregon
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Toronto, Canada
- Vancouver, Canada
- Whitehorse, Canada
From its Frankfurt hub, Condor connects to more than 100 destinations in Europe and beyond.
Condor is the latest transatlantic low-cost carrier to either launch, relaunch, or expand its long-haul service between the United States and Europe in recent months just as international travel is experiencing a massive rebound—unfortunately coupled with airfares that are giving travelers severe sticker shock. Other examples of airlines offering more affordable alternatives include no-frills Icelandic carrier Play, French Bee (with low-cost flights to Paris from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Newark), Spanish carrier Level, and Scandinavian upstart Norse Atlantic Airways.
“We are seeing an increasing amount of pent-up demand from Americans who are now eager to visit Europe,” Mathias Friess, Condor’s vice president and area manager for North America, said in a statement.
Friess noted that, historically, Condor’s focus has been on secondary U.S. markets that are underserved—the new service to major airports like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston is a first for Condor.
In addition to its low-cost economy seats, Condor offers competitive business and premium fares—the airline claims its premium seats are up to 50 percent below comparable seats on legacy carriers.
As for the candy-striped planes, transatlantic travelers won’t get the chance to fly them unless they are connecting in Europe and beyond. The six Condor aircraft that will be flying with the new design this summer—meant to evoke a vacation mindset (think candy-striped beach umbrellas or towels)—will mainly be traveling to Greece, Egypt, and Mallorca and the Canary Islands in Spain.
