Lufthansa pilot strike grounds over a thousand flights
By Bloomberg
Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's second-biggest airline, said the longest series of strikes in its history will lead to the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights over the next two days as walkouts resume.
Pilots plan to stop working from 1 p.m. local time today until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Vereinigung Cockpit union. Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa said the walkout will ground 1,450 short-haul flights and that it's preparing for an extension of the action to long-haul operations tomorrow.
Lufthansa has already canceled thousands of flights because of strike action this year, including 3,800 over three days in April, driving management to cut earnings forecasts in June. The airline aims to operate about one-third, or 700, of its short- haul connections over the next two days using volunteer and management pilots, spokesman Martin Riecken said.
The action is "not understandable and in no way proportionate," Lufthansa said in a statement yesterday.
Vereinigung Cockpit wants the carrier to reinstate benefits withdrawn last year that were paid to flight crew retiring before they receive the state pension. Lufthansa wants to raise the retirement age to 60 years from 55 as part of a wider cost- cutting and productivity program.
Grounded Jumbos
"Lufthansa insists on its maximum demands and has shown absolutely no willingness to compromise," Joerg Handwerk, a spokesman for the union, said yesterday by phone. Pilots are ready to stage further walkouts beyond this week, he said.
Long-haul walkouts planned for tomorrow will affect Airbus Group NV A380, A340 and A330 aircraft together with Boeing Co. 747 flights, the union said today in a statement on its website.
Train travel in Germany was also disrupted by strike action last week and into the weekend. Other Lufthansa Group carriers including Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Air, Air Dolomiti and Germanwings -- which scrapped 46 flights last week -- aren't due to be affected this week.