German Condor Airline jilts Sarasota for now

Sep 2nd, 2010 | By Axel Weiss, Bradenton Realtor | Category: Area Info, Blog, International

SARASOTA – Bradenton: Condor Airlines, a German air carrier that Sarasota-Bradenton International has wooed for more than two years, told the airport on Wednesday that it will not fly locally for now. Though Condor praised the airport’s “incomparable package” of incentives and efforts, the decision by the Frankfurt-based carrier nonetheless represents a major blow to Sarasota-Bradenton International’s effort to expand its international offerings.

BP’s oil spill named as one point!

In a letter to airport officials, Condor cited the potentially lingering and devastating effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which gushed more than 100 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico from late April to August. “Even that the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is temporarily out of the news, we have major concerns that over the next few months we’ll experience an aftermath, thus increasing the financial risk of our flights,” wrote Herwig Oberhuber, Condor’s head of planning and international relations.

Oberhuber said the airline also has “reservations” about Sarasota-Bradenton International’s customs, catering, immigrations and technical support operations, but did not elaborate.

Condor also said financial yields on Florida flights were limited, which hampered any expansion into the state. The airline now serves just one Florida destination, Fort Lauderdale. Condor had considered flying nonstop from Frankfurt twice weekly, from April to October, for a two-year period beginning in 2011. Each of its flights, aboard Boeing 767 aircraft, could have brought 270 passengers.

Airport officials were disappointed with the outcome but noted that Condor praised the local effort as “among the most attractive we received from all airports in the area,” according to Oberhuber’s letter. “This would have increased our number of passengers, but even more than that, it would have put us in a different strata from the standpoint of attracting other air service,” said airport Chief Executive Fred Piccolo. “Condor would have had a real prestige value for us,” Piccolo said.

Government run visitor bureaus outside Manatee / Sarasota not supportive enough!

Condor specifically cited the area’s “most attractive marketing support package,” though it added that the lack of a more regional approach from the visitors bureaus was “more than disappointing” because most German tourists tour throughout Florida when traveling.

Virginia Haley, president of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the decision will not curtail efforts to make further inroads into Germany. “This in no way slows down our expanded marketing efforts in Germany,” Haley said. “It is clear that they were impressed with the marketing from Sarasota-Bradenton, the economic development offices and the convention and visitors bureaus. We just need to bring more regional partners to the table.”

Condor’s presence in Florida has been shrinking over the years. After the 9/11 attacks, Condor had to pull out of Tampa International Airport due to nearby McDill AFB. Four years ago, it left Fort Myers’ airport, and in 2009, it abandoned Orlando International.

Still, Piccolo said he may try to court Condor in the future.

“We’re going to keep plugging away, and we can take a lot of positives out of this,” he said. “We’ve built a better template now for how to attract carriers, built better relationships with the CVBs, and received information on improvements we can make here.”

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