Lufthansa pilots look set to ground the airline on Friday with a 24-hour strike in a serious escalation of a dispute over pay.
German carrier Lufthansa confirmed it had cancelled 800 flights at its hubs at Frankfurt and Munich on Friday, affecting 130,000 passengers, and said some flights wold be cancelled today.
Further cancellations and flight delays are also likely on Saturday and Sunday, with aircraft and crew left out of position by the strike.
Lufthansa insisted it has made a “very good offer” to the pilots, including an increase in base salary of €900 a month.
But the pilots’ Vereinigung Cockpit union has called a strike from 00:01 to 23:59 (Central European Time) on September 2.
It is demanding an immediate 5.5% increase backdated to July 1, 2022, followed by an inflation-linked rise on January 1 next year, plus increased payments for sick leave and holidays.
The airline claimed the demand by the union would increase its wage costs by 40%.
Lufthansa chief human resources officer Michael Niggemann said: “We need to find solutions through negotiation.”
The carrier said it was unable to provide specific information on the impact of the strike but would “do everything possible” to minimise the impact on passengers.
Lufthansa asked passengers due to fly on Friday to check lufthansa.com continuously for information.
Niggemann insisted: “We can’t understand Vereinigung Cockpit’s call for a strike. The management has made a very good and socially balanced offer despite the continuing burdens of the Covid crisis and uncertain prospects for the global economy.
“This escalation comes at the expense of many thousands of customers.”
Lufthansa’s €900-per-month offer forms part of a proposed 18-month deal, with the increase paid in two stages.
Entry level co-pilots would be due an 18% rise in salary, with the longest-serving captains receiving 5%.
The carrier has also offered to guarantee a minimum Lufthansa fleet size, with an associated agreement on job numbers.
Lufthansa agreed to pay ground staff a 19% wage increase last month to avert strikes in a deal seen as a benchmark for German aviation.
Pilots at Lufthansa’s low-cost subsidiary Eurowings have also voted to strike over pay in a ballot which closed on August 31.
However, no dates have yet been announced for strikes by Eurowings’ pilots, with the Vereinigung Cockpit union saying Lufthansa should view the ballot result as a warning and agree a settlement.