Condor has been transporting passengers to leisure destinations since 1956. Back then, it was called Deutsche Flugdienst GmbH. Its current brand, Condor, was launched in 1961. Although the company has also flown air freight shipments from day one, for decades the package and pallet business only played a marginal role in the carrier’s product portfolio. However, things have been different for several months now.
There are a number of reasons for Condor’s increased focus on cargo. The nomination of Peter Gerber as CEO, for example. The proven air freight expert who, among other things, was CEO of Lufthansa Cargo, heads the airline since 01FEB24. Since fall 2023, Thilo Schäfer, who also held leading positions at Lufthansa Cargo, is responsible for Condor’s cargo business.
Evolution of Condor Cargo
Yet capable and experienced personnel alone do not ensure more tonnage. The rollover of the fleet is at least as important for the upswing in capacity demand by freight forwarders and general sales agents. Schäfer compares the shift from the aging Boeing 767 aircraft that his airline had been using for years, to the more efficient Airbus A330neo, as kind of celestial big bang. Currently, the carrier operates 17 units of this Airbus variant. Each of them can carry up to 14 tons per flight, depending on the number of passengers and their luggage. In contrast, the B767 was limited to 6 tons per take-off. “The rollover of our long-haul fleet has greatly stabilized our business, conversely visibly reducing the number of ad hoc shipments,” notes Schäfer.
Non-stop routes via non-stop bookings
Another factor is that the non-stop routes, taking off, for instance, from Germany to New York, Seattle, Toronto or Cancún on the Mexican peninsula of Yucatan, are enjoying high cargo demand, leading to satisfying capacity utilization. Flights to the Dominican Republic with commuting transports from interline partner, Copa Airlines, to final destinations in Brazil, Panama or Ecuador “are also running very well from an air freight perspective,” says Manager Schäfer.
Condor Cargo’s product range is quite broad and includes foodstuffs such as fruit and vegetables, flowers, electronics, spare parts, tools, machinery items, among others. Since last week, customers can book capacity online via all relevant electronic channels, including cargo.one. “That contributes significantly to our digitalization strategy,” adds Schäfer.
WestJet collaboration
Similar to the agreement with Panama-based Copa Airlines, Condor has now signed an interline agreement with Canada’s WestJet, including freight transportation. This allows providers to share the capacities offered by their fleets. “This substantially expands our reach and enables us to offer transportation to multiple destinations served by WestJet, within Canada and beyond. This includes transpac flights operated by WestJet to Japan, by transiting exports in Toronto or Calgary.” With Kirsten de Bruijn, Head of Cargo, an extremely knowledgeable and assertive leader is sitting in the driver’s seat of WestJet Cargo, who will ensure that the relationship between the two cargo divisions will be dynamic also on the part of the Canadian airline.
