The dispute between Condor and Lufthansa continues to escalate.
The German Federal Cartel Office is examining whether the AUA parent Lufthansa is abusing its market power in the battle for long-haul tourist passengers. The authority responded to a complaint from the vacation airline Condor and opened a formal investigation last week, as a spokesman reported on Thursday on request.
There is also a need for particular urgency in the event that Condor has to fear serious economic disadvantages and Lufthansa actually abuses its market position. The companies involved as well as the tour operators had already been given the opportunity to comment.
Such a procedure would represent an additional burden in the Corona crisis, explained the President of the Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt. “But we, as the competition authority, see it as our duty to carefully examine whether the conditions of competition in the already highly concentrated aviation markets will deteriorate further as a result of behavior contrary to antitrust law.”
In essence, it is about the fact that Lufthansa canceled the long-term flat-rate contract for feeder flights to Condor long-distance travel last November. This makes connecting connections with a change of airline more difficult to book.
Lufthansa used to be liable for delays at the feeder. The Condor explained that the corresponding Lufthansa flights as transfer connections are currently blocked for their agents.
New flight operations
The Lufthansa Group has declared that it wants to get more involved in the business of long-haul tourist flights and has therefore founded the new “Eurowings Discover” flight company, on which tourist flights are to be bundled.
Condor used to be a Lufthansa subsidiary itself and has stood on its own two feet with the help of a large government loan since the Thomas Cook Group went down. Lufthansa was also saved by the state in the Corona crisis. She declined to comment on the procedure on Thursday.
Condor boss Ralf Teckentrup explained. “Tax money should be used to ensure the survival of companies during the Corona crisis, but not to force other companies out of the market.”
