Q&A with Condor Airlines’ Titus Johnson
Thursday, April 07, 2016
GoLocal had the opportunity to catch up with Titus Johnson, Condor Airlines Vice President for North America, at the Discover New England Summit in Newport this week, for a one-on-one interview.
Condor began service at T.F. Green Airport in the summer of 2015, with two flights a week between Rhode Island and Frankfurt, Germany.
GoLocal talked with Johnson about Condor and the Green experience -- and what he sees Rhode Island's "brand" as being.
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So you came to Green in 2015 -- how had that come about?
Condor has a reputation of flying into new destinations, often unserved by other airlines. We saw the market, and the facilities at Green, and we felt it fit well with our expansion plans into the U.S. and our business model of offering low fares, with high quality of service, to be the best value in the market.
What's the Condor-Green schedule?
We started in June 2015 with two flights a week, Monday and Thursday, from June 13 to the first of September. We fly to Frankfurt, but most passengers go beyond. We connect to the rest of Europe with Condor.
We're an efficient airline, we know what we do well -- fly into peak markets in the peak months of the year. We do serve 2 other airports U.S. year-round. We've flown for 60 years and 40 into North America. And Condor has the reputation for the best value in the market. Right now, you can fly to Frankfurt from Green $289 economy, $529 for premium economy, and $789 business class.
If you fly from Boston to Frankfurt in business class, it will cost you at least four times as much. For premium leisure passengers, we have a strong proposition in our premium cabins. And that's full business class, with a five course meal. All the cabins have been recently renovated as of 2014.
What's your experience with Green been to date?
It's been really positive. We've had great traction from the stakeholders -- businesses, travelers, all companies who are located at the airport. The management team is hands on and supportive.
Every time Condor lands in Providence, it injects a quarter of a million dollars into the Rhode Island economy. Tourists tend to spend a couple of weeks, and even the minimal amount that's at least $250,000. When they come from Europe, nearly all stay in the region -- some may continue on, but the lion share stays. We believe Green is a great place to start a vacation.
What in your opinion is Rhode Island's brand?
I think it's the water, it's the food -- the seafood. I think it's a very healthy, aspirational upmarket destination. Fantastic beaches, great seafaring tradition -- in many ways to similar to Europe. Very sophisticated, I can see more and more Europeans coming to Rhode Island, starting their vacation here. There's so much to offer. From here they can go inland, Berkshires, Vermont, Maine -- it's rich in culture, it's a feast for the eyes as well. It's a fantastic taste of the U.S. for European visitors.
What's the safety landscape with recent international incidents?
Airline travel remains by far one of the safest modes of transportation, and on top of that, with the exchange rate with the dollar, it is a good time to fly.
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