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The San Antonio airport’s first flight ‘across the pond’ will be to Frankfurt, Germany, starting in May 2024.
The service will be provided by Condor, an airline headquartered in Frankfurt, as it taps into a competitive air market that sees a similar flight out of Austin to Frankfurt operated by Lufthansa Airlines.
San Antonio officials are touting the route as a significant achievement for the airport that opens the gates to easier European and international travel.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the market for air service is a trailing indicator of the overall economy, and it’s anticipated to have an annual economic impact of $34 million for the city.
“San Antonio’s economy is strong and it's growing stronger, so the trajectory of this city is one that now businesses are starting to invest in and make significant investments in,” Nirenberg said. “Condor is a business [that sees] the benefit in investing in San Antonio’s air service for the future.”
Condor will begin offering the service three days per week starting on May 17, 2024. The route will run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from May through September.
The non-stop trips will last about 11 hours. Flights will depart San Antonio International (SAT) at 10:05 p.m. on Mondays and arrive at Frankfurt (FRA) at 3:20 p.m. the next day. The return flight will leave Frankfurt International Airport at 3:40 p.m. and arrive in San Antonio about 8:05 p.m.
On Wednesdays and Fridays, flights would leave SAT at 8:25 p.m. and arrive at FRA around 1:40 p.m. the next day. On the reverse, they’ll depart FRA at 2:00 p.m. and arrive in the Alamo City around 6:25 p.m.
The anticipated cost of the flight is $1,200 for a round trip economy seat. The plane assigned to the route would be an Airbus A330-900neo, which can seat 310 passengers.
San Antonio has seen a bleed of airport travelers who drive 80 miles to Austin’s Airport to take advantage of lower flights and access to more nonstop destinations. City and airport officials curb that need by offering a more attractive schedule.
Lufthansa began providing service from Austin to Frankfurt in May 2019. It currently offers a non-stop flight five days a week from Austin Bergstrom International Airport with a price of about $795 one way, according to current schedules. Houston and the DFW Metroplex also have non-stop flights.
The airline and airport consultants estimate that more than 300 people per day are flying out of San Antonio to European destinations.
The San Antonio airport will begin a $2.5 billion redevelopment next year that will include the creation of a third airport terminal that’s expected to be completed in 2028.
