Germany’s Condor To Be First Airline To Connect San Antonio To Europe

condor Airbus A330-900neo
Credit: Markus Mainka/Alamy Stock Photo

German leisure carrier Condor will become the first airline to operate flights between Europe and San Antonio International Airport (SAT), which currently only has international service to Mexico.

Condor will offer 3X-weekly seasonal service between Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and the Texas airport using an Airbus A330-900neo aircraft configured with 310 seats, including 30 in business, 64 in premium economy and 216 in economy. The airline will fly the FRA-SAT route from May 17 through Sept. 6 next year.

“This a spectacular win for San Antonio,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at a Sept. 21 news conference. “This is the first time people in San Antonio will be able to fly from SAT to Europe nonstop and vice-versa. Germany is where San Antonio has the most demand for travel in Europe because of the cultural, historic, tourism, military and business ties.”

SAT notes in a statement that FRA “connects to dozens of destinations throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India.” The airport has long courted transatlantic service.

FRA becomes the airport’s 42nd destination. Currently, San Antonio connects to five destinations outside the U.S., all in Mexico: Cancun, Guadalajara, Leon, Mexico City and Monterrey.

Condor had already planned to operate nonstop service from FRA to 12 U.S. cities for the 2024 summer season: Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle.

Condor earlier this month took delivery of its ninth factory-built A330neo.

“With our growing fleet of A330neos, we can provide better travel options to more Americans every year,” Condor CEO Ralf Teckentrup says. “I am particularly proud to offer the only nonstop connection from San Antonio, Texas, to Frankfurt, Germany—the heart of Europe, where travelers can enjoy the popular touristic sights of Germany or travel beyond conveniently by air, road or rail.”

SAT Director Jesus Saenz adds: “This is just the beginning of so much more to come at SAT. We fully believe San Antonio will utilize this service to Europe and take advantage of Condor’s extremely competitive airfares. Once that happens, we anticipate Condor will expand their services even further.”

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.