Lufthansa Airlines pilots' strike is definitely giving its customers a hard time after it resulted to the cancellation of 1,000 flights on Wednesday. The largest German airline company announced Tuesday that the cancellations will affect some 140,000 travelers.
The Lufthansa strike came after the management planned to practice low-cost operations while cutting the benefits and salaries of their employees. According to NBC News, the pilots union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), started its strike on long-haul flights on Tuesday, forcing 90 flight cancellation. And on Wednesday, the union extended the strike, which included medium and short-haul flights.
Fortunately, the Lufthansa strike did not affect its subsidiaries including Germanwings, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. The company also added that about 500 of the airline's flight would still operate, KSL.com noted.
The Lufthansa strike was the result of an ongoing labor dispute as the company restructures to meet increasing competition from budget rivals such as Gulf airlines and Ryanair, which are targeting the German market. The 5,400 pilots on strike are also seeking solutions to their demands, including making transition payments for those planning an early retirement. And if the management refuses to improve their offer over cost-cutting, the pilots union threatens for more strikes to ensue.
Moreover, the pilots are also striking over retirement benefits, pay and Lufthansa's plans to expand low-cost operations. They want the company to stop Eurowings' expansion, which has an Austria operating license. However, negotiations still continue.
"If there's no new offer from Lufthansa we will call for a further strike," VC spokesman Markus Wahl told Reuters. He also added that the strikes could occur anytime but would give 24-hour notice.
Despite Lufthansa's effort to stop the strike, which is already the 13th in 18 months, with a temporary injunction, two courts ruled in favor of the pilot's union.
"Lufthansa deeply regrets the resulting inconvenience to its customers," the company said of the strike, then advised their passengers to check its website for details of forthcoming flight cancelations.
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