Friday April 16, 2021
Contract for feeder flights
Lufthansa settles the dispute with Condor for the time being
The position of the Federal Cartel Office and pressure from the EU are apparently having an effect: Lufthansa is extending its contract with Condor and will continue to offer transfer flights for customers of the airline. A final decision by the German competition authorities in the case is still pending.
In the dispute with Condor over its feeder flights to long-haul connections of the holiday airline, Lufthansa is turning in. “Lufthansa has agreed to continue the SPA contract with Condor until March 2022,” said a Lufthansa spokesman. The extension has already been implemented. A “Special Prorate Agreement” enables Condor to offer customers with one booking a transfer flight from Lufthansa to the place of departure of their long-haul flights.
Lufthansa terminated the contract at the end of 2020, effective June 1, 2021. Condor defended itself against it with complaints and lawsuits at the Federal Cartel Office and the EU court in Luxembourg because Lufthansa would abuse its leading market position. After a preliminary examination, the Cartel Office shared Condor’s position. The EU Commission had also put pressure on so that Lufthansa would not make business difficult for its smaller competitor.
Both airlines are supported with state financial aid in the Corona crisis and are tough competitors in the fight to restart the flight business, which has been hard hit by the pandemic. Main proceedings are in progress at the Bundeskartellamt and a decision must be made after twelve months at the latest. Lufthansa continues to assume that the termination is legally possible. The airline is in a good and constructive exchange with Condor. “We are in talks with Lufthansa,” said a Condor spokeswoman, but did not comment on the issue.
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