100,000 passengers hit on third day of Lufthansa strike

AFP, BERLIN: Germany's flagship airline Lufthansa cancelled 830 domestic and European flights yesterday, affecting more than 100,000 passengers, as a strike by pilots demanding higher pay stretched into a third day. The airline said it would also scrap 137
long-haul flights on Saturday after the pilots' union Cockpit announced another extension of the stoppage. More than 2,700 flights have now been cancelled since the start of the walkout, causing travel disruptions for over 345,000 passengers, Lufthansa said in a statement.
It is the pilots' 14th strike since April 2014. Cockpit is demanding a pay rise of an average of 3.66 per cent per year, retroactive for the
past five years. The management is offering 2.5 per cent.
Austrian Airlines and Swiss -- part of the Lufthansa group -- have tried to pick up some of the slack by expanding their service to Germany.
The group's other airlines -- including Germanwings, Air Dolomiti and Brussels
Airlines -- have not been affected by the strike.
Top-selling daily Bild says the strike is costing Lufthansa some 10 million euros ($10.5 million) a day.
Affected passengers can rebook their flights without charge or request rail travel vouchers, the airline said.
Lufthansa's hub management board member Harry Hohmeister said on Thursday it was "not possible" to meet the pilots' demands.
"The starting point is that we already pay our pilots far better than our competitors," he said.
A pilot in the top seniority category can earn more than 22,000 euros ($23,000) per month.
The airline said last month that it expects its annual earnings before interest and tax will reach "approximately previous year's level" of 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion).
Lufthansa has been battling a series of walkouts by both the pilots and cabin crew over the last two years, as it seeks to bring down costs to survive competition from budget rivals such as EasyJet and Ryanair.

100,000 passengers hit on third day of Lufthansa strike

AFP, BERLIN: Germanys flagship airline Lufthansa cancelled 830 domestic and European flights yesterday, affecting more than 100,000 passengers, as a strike by pilots demanding higher pay stretched into a third day. The airline said it would also scrap 137 long-haul flights on Saturday after the pilots union Cockpit announced another extension of the stoppage. More than 2,700 flights have now been cancelled since the start of the walkout, causing travel disruptions for over 345,000 passengers, Lufthansa said in a statement. It is the pilots 14th strike since April 2014. Cockpit is demanding a pay rise of an average of 3.66 per cent per year, retroactive for the past five years. The management is offering 2.5 per cent. Austrian Airlines and Swiss -- part of the Lufthansa group -- have tried to pick up some of the slack by expanding their service to Germany. The groups other airlines -- including Germanwings, Air Dolomiti and Brussels Airlines -- have not been affected by the strike. Top-selling daily Bild says the strike is costing Lufthansa some 10 million euros ($10.5 million) a day. Affected passengers can rebook their flights without charge or request rail travel vouchers, the airline said. Lufthansas hub management board member Harry Hohmeister said on Thursday it was not possible to meet the pilots demands. The starting point is that we already pay our pilots far better than our competitors, he said. A pilot in the top seniority category can earn more than 22,000 euros ($23,000) per month. The airline said last month that it expects its annual earnings before interest and tax will reach approximately previous years level of 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion). Lufthansa has been battling a series of walkouts by both the pilots and cabin crew over the last two years, as it seeks to bring down costs to survive competition from budget rivals such as EasyJet and Ryanair.