German airline Condor has launched its delayed long-haul route between Berlin Brandenburg Airport and Abu Dhabi.
Condor’s new daily service is part of a “strategic partnership” with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which will codeshare on the route.
Berlin-Abu Dhabi flights had originally been due to start in June before being delayed to mid-October to coincide with the start of the winter schedule. The route is being served by Airbus A320neo aircraft with 180 seats across economy and business class cabins.
Condor and Etihad are also codesharing on the German airline’s new Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi route, which is also launching for the winter season.
Pierre Dominique Prümm, Condor’s chief commercial officer, said: “This close co-operation combines the strengths of both networks and opens up additional travel opportunities for both leisure and business travellers.”
As it reshapes its long-haul network, Condor is ending daily flights to Dubai from Berlin and Stuttgart this winter. It blamed this decision on the “backdrop of the continued challenging economic conditions” for airlines.
Other recent long-haul developments have seen Condor sign an interline partnership with American Airlines to improve connections with the German carrier’s flights to Boston, New York JFK, Chicago and Los Angeles. Condor already has a partnership in place with Southwest Airlines.
An interline deal has also been announced between Condor and Australian airline Qantas to improve access to Australia and New Zealand.
On its short-haul network, Condor is adding three European routes from Frankfurt to Stockholm, Athens and Florence from April 2027.