The European Commission has approved restructuring aid worth EUR321.2 million euros (USD364 million) to Condor (DE, Frankfurt International), in line with European Union state aid regulations, a press release from Brussels reveals.
The decision came after the German state aid was initially annulled by the EU General Court which expressed concerns that Germany did not receive sufficient assurances of debt sharing among shareholders, which led to an in-depth probe from the EC.
“The Commission found that Condor is implementing a comprehensive package of restructuring measures that will ensure its return to long-term viability,” the EC said in the press release. “Moreover, Condor and its new private investor Attestor are making a significant own contribution to the cost of restructuring, as they fund over 70% of that cost. The Commission found that existing shareholders lost the entire value of their investment. This means full burden-sharing is achieved, no moral hazard issues arise from the aid, and Germany has received a sufficient share in future upsides.”
Days before the announcement, Condor executives said that the carrier had already made a profit in the current fiscal year, according to internal accounting figures. As quoted by the German news agency dpa, CEO Peter Gerber and CFO Björn Walther revealed that total revenue rose 15% to EUR2.4 billion (USD2.7 billion) year on year in the 2023-24 fiscal year which ended in September. Furthermore, the executives said that operating profit increased from EUR52 million (USD59 million) to EUR113 million (USD128 million) in the first quarter of the current fiscal period.
There are no signs that Attestor is planning to exit Condor quickly, Gerber said at a press conference on April 25, according to aeroTELEGRAPH. The investor owns 51% of Condor while 49% is held by state-owned company SG Luftfahrtgesellschaft.
Phasing out B757 ops
Condor has also confirmed plans to phase out its B757-300 fleet, completely exiting Boeing aircraft and focusing on an all-Airbus fleet. ch-aviation reported earlier that Condor planned to retire the aircraft by the end of the IATA summer season this year.
Condor has a total of eight B757-300s in its in-house fleet, having previously operated an additional eight of the type. The average age of the current Boeing aircraft at Condor is 25.4, ch-aviation fleets data shows. The rest of the company’s in-house fleet consists of ten A320-200s, two A320-200Ns, thirteen A321-200s, six A321-200NX jets, and eighteen A330-900Ns.
Photo: Flyingphotos
CH Aviation
