German airline Condor is the latest European carrier increasing its number of flights to Costa Rica. Such is the report by Tatiana Gutierrez Wa-Chong of business weekly El Financiero, published by Grupo Nacion. The new flight on Tuesday increases the number of flights between Frankfurt and the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) to three per week.

 

The new Condor flight connecting Germany and Costa Rica will be handled by air crews operating a Boeing 767 passenger jet with a seating capacity of 259 passengers. Of special note are Condor’s refurbishment of the 767 original seats, which have been replaced with ergonomic seats that allow far more legroom and comfort. According to the airline, the decision to add this flight was made in accordance with current market demand to fly to Costa Rica, not just among German tourists but also visitors from other European nations.

 

Along with Spain, Great Britain and France, Germany is one of the major sources of European tourism to our country. In 2013, German tourists made up 18 percent of all European visitors to Costa Rica. German tourists tend to stay more than two weeks in Costa Rica, far more days than visitors from the United States. A major reason for this can be found in Germany’s pro-worker laws, which in many cases guarantee at least 30 days of vacation per year. German tourists are also not as frugal as their U.S. counterparts thanks to a stable economy: They spend about $73 per day in Costa Rica.

 

Condor is Germany’s third largest commercial airline based on fleet size and passengers flown. It is headquartered in Frankfurt, and it is a subsidiary of the British Thomas Cook Group. The company slogan is Wir lieben Fliegen (born to fly).