Condor (DE, Frankfurt International) will cut between 15% and 25% of its workforce as it further reduces operating costs amid the coronavirus-fuelled passenger aviation crisis, chief executive Ralf Teckentrup told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

The charter specialist plans to shed “about 15% to 25% of jobs. That would be between 650 and 1,000 jobs for us,” a move that is in line with similar measures put in place by competitor carriers, Teckentrup said, adding that he expected the crisis in the airline sector to last until 2024.

“We will have lower income and higher costs and have to repay state aid,” he explained. “Average ticket prices will rise.”

The former Thomas Cook Group asset also plans to move to smaller headquarters, which the CEO said could save about EUR1 million euros (USD1.13 million).

“We no longer need room for employees who worked for our former parent,” he told the weekly newspaper. “In addition, about 10% to 15% of our colleagues will work in a home office on a permanent basis.”

Protective shield proceedings, which set Condor up for a future without its insolvent former parent and which creditors approved on March 12, will probably last until the end of September, he said.

LOT Polish Airlines (LO, Warsaw Chopin) abandoned its takeover of Condor amid the pandemic. Asked about the chance of a new buyer surfacing, Teckentrup commented that it was unlikely at least until the end of 2021.

“In the current crisis nobody is thinking about takeovers,” he surmised.

In April, the German government and the central state of Hesse, where Frankfurt International Airport is located, agreed to give Condor loans worth EUR550 million (USD620 million) after LOT pulled out.

Condor will operate around 30% of its originally planned flights this summer. Bookings are satisfactory but far below previous years. Nevertheless, Condor has fewer cost pressures than its competitors, according to the chief executive.