Peter Gerber was a Lufthansa manager for a long time, so nothing in the industry can really surprise him anymore. Lufthansa's competitor Condor has nevertheless succeeded in doing so. „Condor added 17 new long-haul aircraft in 17 months, replacing its entire intercontinental fleet and switching to a new manufacturer – Airbus – in the process," he says. "If someone had asked me beforehand, I would have said it wouldn't work during ongoing operations.“

But it did work, and the new Condor boss, who took up his post on the 1 February, says he was very impressed. Condor has grown by 50% since the pandemic – and „you have to manage that first,“ says Gerber, who succeeded the long-serving Condor CEO Ralf Teckentrup. For years, the company – and with it the management team and the entire organisation – was in crisis mode. First, the parent company Thomas Cook went bankrupt, then the entire industry came to a virtual standstill during the pandemic. As a result, the Polish investor PGL bailed out and a new financial investor had to be found. State aid money flowed in, which has left its mark to this day, since 49% of the shares are held by the state-owned promotional bank KfW. This will remain the case at least until the loan granted has been repaid – presumably by 2026.

The shares would then possibly be sold, perhaps to the British investor Attestor, which already holds the remaining 51%. However, the question arises as to how long Attestor will ultimately remain involved. If the main investor exits, „it will be difficult to survive on your own if you are too small,“ says Gerber. The airline business is a business of scale. The strategic plan presented by the CEO at his first press conference includes considerations on this topic looking ahead to 2026. It is important that the performance is good, since „that would be the best prerequisite for a possible bidding process“.

Attestor not only acquired the shares, but also invested heavily– the only way fleet replacement would have been possible. Gerber sees the new fleet as one of Condor's major advantages in times of an acute aircraft shortage, because while others are still desperately waiting for new aircraft, Condor is already flying them. As a result, capacity has increased, and new aircraft are also much more environmentally friendly. On the road to CO₂ neutrality, „the most important thing is the aircraft,“ Gerber is convinced. The A330neo, which now flies long-haul routes for Condor, emits 20% less CO₂ than the Boeing 767 model that was previously used.

The second lever on the way to CO₂ neutrality is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The EU's requirements envisage a blending quota of 2% from 1 January 2025, which will increase step by step. However, far too little SAF is still being produced. Gerber also criticises the „unclear regulation from Brussels“. It is to be feared that airlines will be penalised if they fail to meet the target, whereas oil companies, which would have to produce more, would not be sanctioned. According to Gerber, the German government has cancelled funding for SAF of 2 billion euros until 2028, following the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court on the supplementary budget. All of this is slowing down the airline industry.

Like Lufthansa, Condor has secured SAF contingents via bilateral agreements with manufacturers. A partnership with Caphenia has just been announced, which is also backed by Gerber's former Lufthansa colleague Kay Kratky. However, all this is likely to be no more than the proverbial drop in the ocean.

Strategically, Condor already positioned itself more in the direction of a business airline under Teckentrup and now increasingly under Gerber. The new fleet offers more capacity – „we have to tap into new customer groups and new markets,“ says the airline boss. More and more business travellers are joining the former holiday-only airline, particularly on the long-haul route across the North Atlantic with its greatly expanded Business Class. This is certainly annoying for Lufthansa, but Gerber does not expect any cut-throat competition, since Condor is too small to provoke a big fight, so is somewhat flying under the radar.

Thanks to the recently agreed code-share agreement with Emirates, Condor wants to position itself more strongly, especially in the direction of Asia, which should also be good for the volume of business travellers. The service will start on 26 October with the Berlin-Dubai connection, from where passengers can travel with the new partner. The partnerships with Alaska Airlines and Westjet from Canada have already been running for some time, and the latter is to be „intensified“. Incidentally, Gerber is meeting an old acquaintance there – the CEO is former Lufthansa manager Alexis von Hoensbroech.

The carrier aims to be in the black in the current financial year (which ends 30 September). The crucial summer season for airlines is currently underway. The industry is suffering from the current volatile weather, with many thunderstorms and heavy rain or hail. "It's hell right now“, Gerber says.