Tuesday, 2 December 2014

Lufthansa’s German Pilot union on a two day strike


Germany’s largest airline, Lufthansa have cancelled about 1,300 flights on Monday and Tuesday but a few also on Wednesday and Thursday. The German’s pilot union went on a strike after talks broke down over retirement benefits.

The union said the Germany-wide strike would last from midday (11h00 GMT) on Monday to 11.59pm (22h59 GMT) on Tuesday for short- and medium-haul flights, as well as from 3am (02h00 GMT) to 11.59pm (22h59 GMT) on Tuesday for long-haul flights.

The airline wants to phase out its early retirement scheme, something the pilots are strongly opposed to. They are currently able to retire at the age of 55 and receive up to 60% of their pay until the standard retirement age of 65. Lufthansa said it had made concessions in recent talks, including giving the pilots a 5% pay rise.

The pilot’s union strike is the ninth since April and has knocked off $200m from Lufthansa’s operating cost.

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