Germany's Condor Airlines has offered summer fairs from BWI to Frankfurt (FRA) off-and-on for many years. This past year, Condor graced us with the candy-stripers.
For many years, Condor Airlines flew the Boeing 767 into Baltimore, and occasionally the Airbus A330. This year, Condor flew the colorful candy-stripers. Unfortunately (from my personal photography perspective), I was only able to get to BWI twice to photograph them landing this past summer. Note: I spent nearly 2 weeks in South Korea this past summer, in addition to our normal week in Florida, plus I started a new role at work demanding a lot more of my time.
This past week, Condor Airlines announced that due to a German court ruling, they would be ending service to several U.S. cities, including Baltimore and Minneapolis. The ruling ended a prior ruling that former Condor parent, Lufthansa, provide feeder routes to Condor's network. This means that passengers could fly to Frankfurt , Germany via Condor, then hop on a connecting flight from Lufthansa and travel to other destinations that Condor did not serve.
So what is the future of Europe-bound air traffic from BWI? Currently, BWI is served by two Icelandic airlines - Icelandair and Play. However, there are rumors that Play is not going to stay much longer. British Airways also serves BWI, which is almost the European mainland. I remember when AerLingus flew to BWI, but I don't personally recall any other European airlines making BWI a regularly scheduled destination.
Could Lufthansa pick up the lost slot? If so, I doubt they would send an actual Lufthansa plane, like the Boeing 787. However, perhaps they would send their Discover Airlines. A possible downfall with that idea is that Discover already flies to Philadelphia (PHL), and that may be deemed too close to BWI to offer additional service.
What are your thoughts on BWI getting another European airline next summer?
