Summary
- San Antonio International Airport will soon have its first-ever long-haul flights with Condor’s direct services to Frankfurt Airport, operating 3 times per week from May 2024.
- Condor’s Airbus A330-900s can carry as much as 310 passengers and can replace the airline’s aging Boeing 767-300ERs.
- San Antonio is currently limited to 5 international destinations, but nearby Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has a well-established European route network.
San Antonio International Airport (SAT) will soon welcome its first-ever scheduled long-haul flights, in the shape of direct services to Frankfurt Airport (FRA), operated by Condor. From May 2024, the German leisure carrier will send its distinctive Airbus A330-900s to the Texan airport 3 times per week.
The flight schedule
Flights will begin on May seventeenth, 2024, and can operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, as per the next schedule:
Flight number |
Route |
Departure |
Arrival |
Frequency |
DE2136 |
FRA-SAT |
15:40 |
20:50 |
Mon |
DE2136 |
FRA-SAT |
14:00 |
18:25 |
Wed, Fri |
DE2137 |
SAT-FRA |
22:05 |
15:20 (+1 day) |
Mon |
DE2137 |
SAT-FRA |
20:25 |
13:40 (+1 day) |
Wed, Fri |
Photo: Kevin Hackert/Shutterstock
Condor took delivery of its first A330-900 in December 2022, with its first revenue service operating from Frankfurt to Mauritius (MRU) on December twenty seventh. Data from ch-aviation.com shows that the airline currently has nine A330-900s in its fleet, each able to carrying as much as 310 passengers in a two-class configuration – 30 in business class and 280 in economy class. The carrier continues to be awaiting delivery of an additional nine A330-900s, which is able to, over time, replace the airline’s aging Boeing 767-300ERs.
San Antonio will turn out to be Condor’s eleventh US destination. The airline already flies from its Frankfurt hub to Los Angeles (LAX), Latest York (JFK), and Seattle (SEA) year-round, with seasonal services to Anchorage (ANC), Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), Las Vegas (LAS), Minneapolis (MSP), Phoenix (PHX), and Portland (PDX). Condor may also launch flights to Miami (MIA) on May 18th, 2024.
Photo: Fabian Joy/Shutterstock
Limited but growing international operations
San Antonio International Airport’s limited international route network is currently limited to 5 destinations in Mexico, with flights operated by the next carriers:
- Mexico City (MEX) – Aeroméxico Connect, VivaAerobus, Volaris
- Cancun (CUN) – Southwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines,
- Monterrey (MTY) – VivaAerobus
- Guadalajara (GDL) – Volaris
- Bajío (BJX) – VivaAerobus
Within the yr to June 2023, Southwest Airlines boasted by far the most important market share in San Antonio, flying around 39% of all passengers, followed by American Airlines (21%), and United Airlines (15%). In 2022, the airport recorded 9.4 million passengers, which is just under its 2019 pre-pandemic peak of 10.3 million.
Photo: Angel DiBilio/Shutterstock
Although San Antonio could also be lagging behind in the case of long-haul services, nearby Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) has a European route network to be envied, with regular flights from each British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to London Heathrow (LHR), KLM to Amsterdam (AMS), and Lufthansa to Frankfurt (FRA). Even so, Austin is simply the third-busiest airport in Texas, behind Dallas/Fort Value (DFW) and Houston-Intercontinental (HOU).
What do you think that of Condor’s latest Airbus A330-900 service from Frankfurt to San Antonio? Will you be flying on the route when it launches next May? Have you ever flown on considered one of Condor’s long-haul services prior to now? Tell us by commenting below.