The European Commission has announced interim measures allowing Condor to regain access to Lufthansa feeder flights at Frankfurt International, following preliminary findings that the A++ joint venture with Air Canada and United Airlines restricts competition on the Frankfurt-New York route.
The Commission’s concerns stem from the termination of a Special Prorate Agreement (SPA) in December 2024, which had enabled Condor to access Lufthansa’s network for facilitating long-haul flights; this termination raised fears of diminished competition on the route that Condor entered in 2021.
Condor has recently cut six seasonal services to the US and Canada, citing the lack of European feeder traffic as a primary reason for non-viability; Condor currently operates four weekly flights between Frankfurt and New York JFK.
The investigation of the A++ joint venture began in 2013, with binding commitments made by the airlines to maintain competition; however, after reopening scrutiny on August 7, 2024, the Commission found potential breaches of competition laws and indicated that swift interim measures were necessary to preserve market conditions.
