The arrival of at least 170.000 passengers with Condor in the south of Gran Canaria is at stake, and for Maspalomas the divorce is horrible, no matter how much the tourism authorities try to downplay this fact. The point of conflict is a special pro-rata agreement (SPA) between the two airlines. The German Federal Court of Justice has ruled against Condor in this matter. A crucial episode in this legal saga was the failed acquisition of Condor by the Polish LOT, which again caused financial problems for Condor, leading it to accuse Lufthansa of taking advantage of this situation.
Germany's two largest airlines, Lufthansa and Condor, have a long history in the south of Gran Canaria. When Condor was founded in 1955, Lufthansa was a shareholder in the company and the two airlines cooperated closely. Lufthansa basically regarded Condor as its partner in the leisure sector. Both immediately invested in Maspalomas. Over time, that changed and in the early 2000s, Lufthansa sold its shares in Condor to Thomas Cook. When Thomas Cook closed down, Condor eventually became independent.
But here's the thing: Condor is somewhat dependent on Lufthansa. Frankfurt is not a huge market on its own, especially for a leisure airline, but the reason it is such an important aviation hub is due to the scale of Lufthansa's presence there. Until now, Lufthansa has provided feeder traffic for Condor at specially negotiated prices. Condor largely fills its planes with passengers who stopover on Lufthansa flights.
As the airline industry began to recover from the pandemic, tensions between Condor and Lufthansa did not subside. Condor, now under new ownership following a takeover by investment fund Attestor Capital, sought to reposition itself as a premium holiday destination, while Lufthansa continued to expand its market influence. In 2023, the European Commission intervened in the dispute, investigating possible anti-competitive practices by Lufthansa. Although no final decisions have been issued, the investigation highlights the scale of the conflict and its impact on competition in the European airline market.
The legal dispute between Lufthansa and Condor centres on the provision of feeder flights connecting Condor passengers to its long-haul routes via the Frankfurt hub. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Lufthansa decided to end its cooperation with Condor on these connecting flights, arguing for a focus on its own subsidiary, Discover Airlines, aimed at the holiday flight market.
The decision put Condor, which relied on these flights to transport passengers from various European cities to its long-haul flights, in a disadvantageous position, increasing its operating costs and affecting its competitiveness. Condor took the case to Germany's Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), which ruled in its favour, finding that Lufthansa's action constituted an abuse of its dominant market position. The regulator ordered Lufthansa to maintain the feeder flight agreement under the previously established conditions.
However, Lufthansa appealed this decision to a higher authority. In the meantime, both airlines have agreed to extend their cooperation on feeder flights until the end of 2024, ensuring continuity of service for passengers. The divorce has been in effect since January 2025. Condor argued that the cancellation of the interline agreements had no commercial justification and was an abuse of Lufthansa's dominant position on the German market. The case attracted the attention of competition authorities as it raised questions about anti-competitive practices.
