AndrzejJeziorski/MUNICH
The supervisory boards of German ßag carrier Lufthansa and Karstadt, the Essen-based retail and travel group, have agreed to set up a new travel conglomerate, to be called C & N Condor Neckermann Touristik.
The company will be formed on 1 November, provided that it receives approval from the German monopolies commission. The proposed 50:50 joint venture would become one of the biggest charter-holiday companies in Europe.
After 1 January, 1998, C & N will take over 90% of Lufthansa charter subsidiary Condor, and 90% of Karstadt Group tour operator NUR. The parent companies have decided to retain 10% of each, to maintain an overall majority in their respective subsidiaries, says Lufthansa chairman Jürgen Weber.
Karstadt chairman Walter Deuss says that the aim of the joint venture is to form a lasting, capable, travel concern at a time when German and other European holiday markets are becoming more aggressively competitive.
The venture will also take over the stakes which NUR and Condor hold in other companies. Condor will continue to own 100% of tour operators Air Marin, Fischer Reisen and Kreutzer Touristik, and 40% of German-Turkish holiday airline SunExpress.
A question mark has been raised, however, over Condor's 10% share in tour operator Öger Tours, which specialises in the Turkish market and competes with NUR. Condor chairman Franz Schoiber says that talks are under way with the other Öger shareholders on the future of Condor's stake.
Condor's shares in these tour operators are now held by its subsidiary, Condor Touristik, which Schoiber says will be absorbed within C & N in the longer term.
The announcement comes as the world's largest charter operator, the UK's Britannia Airways, prepares to set up its German subsidiary. This is expected to undercut German charter airlines.
Source: Flight International
