It'll compete head-to-head with Lufthansa, which ceased feeding its former partner's long-haul services in early 2021. Johannesburg comes a few months after Condor revealed New York JFK, with the route to return in May – the same month that Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco will take off.

It follows Eurowings Discover, part of the Lufthansa Group, announcing a brand-new route to South Africa. Frankfurt to Kruger National Park is to launch, to be served through Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport near Mbombela, formerly known as Nelspruit.

What's happening?

Condor will begin Frankfurt to Johannesburg on November 4th. The long, 5,380-mile (8,658km) route will operate twice-weekly, with a block time southbound of 11 hours and ten minutes longer northbound. The timings are almost identical due to the north-south routing which reduces headwinds. It has the following schedule, with all times local:

  • Frankfurt to Johannesburg: DE2088, Mondays, 21:55-09:55+1 (the next day)
  • Frankfurt to Johannesburg: DE2088, Fridays, 20:25-08:25+1
  • Johannesburg to Frankfurt: DE2089, Tuesdays and Saturdays, 19:15-05:25+1
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Lufthansa and former partner Condor will operate non-stop. It is unclear if, or when, South African Airways will return. Image: OAG.

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The B767-300ER will be deployed

These have 18 or 30 seats in business and 35 in premium economy, with between 245 and 258 in economy. It isn't yet known which configuration will be used. Its B767s will be replaced by 16 incoming A330-900s.

It has leased A330-200s in the interim partly for crew training. They entered service on February 19th, and are temporarily being used from Düsseldorf to Palma, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife South. They were expected to start on May 1st, with a handful of flights in February leading up to their full introduction.

Thomas-Boon37-Condor-2020
Photo: Tom Boon - Simple Flying

Frankfurt to Johannesburg

According to Cirium data, Frankfurt-Johannesburg had 489,000 round-trip seats for sale in 2019. Of course, a good chunk of this was taken up by passengers transiting Frankfurt or Johannesburg.

In 2019, both Lufthansa and fellow Star Alliance member South African Airways operated non-stop. SAA (temporarily) ended Frankfurt because of COVID and the carrier's many troubles. It's now served by Lufthansa, with a once-daily B747-8 operation. It is unclear if or when SAA will return, with Condor helping to fill the gap.

Condor's Johannesburg route will rely on point-to-point travel, but it is, after all, only a twice-weekly service. It's in contrast to other destinations, such as in the US, which benefit from wider US travel via various partners, such as Boston/JFK with JetBlue and Seattle with Alaska Airlines.

Frankfurt to Johannesburg_ non-stop seats (1)
A large chunk of these seats are taken up by transit passengers rather than point-to-point passengers. Source of data: Cirium.

Condor's second route to South Africa

Johannesburg will supplement Condor's long-standing Cape Town operation. It began nearly a decade ago in November 2012 and operates during the Northern Hemisphere's winter season. After ending in March 2020, it is to return on November 1st with a three-weekly service.

Where would you like Condor to serve next? Let us know by commenting.