LH on strike again! Nonrevs beware...
Lufthansa was virtually grounded on Monday, with nearly all of its flights cancelled because of a second strike in a month over workers' pay.
Lufthansa cancelled 1,700 flights, leaving only about 30 operating, after all-day strike action was announced at Germany's biggest airports, including Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg.
Unlike other strikes over the past couple of years, Lufthansa even said it was cancelling the majority of its long-haul flights.
"That's 150,000 passengers we are unable to carry today," Lufthansa personnel executive Stefan Lauer said, standing in front of a departure board at Frankfurt showing a swath of cancelled flights.
Germany's airports and railways have been hit with repeated strike action over the past two years, from pilots to tower staff, airfield workers, security staff and train drivers..:(
Update.. LH could strike Again...
A German Union has threatened LH with another round of strikes if airline fails to present better pay next week. "If Lufthansa continues to refuse to present a negotiable offer that secures jobs and increases wages appropriately, there will be more strikes," Verdi wage negotiator Christine Behle said on Friday.
On April 22, Lufthansa was virtually grounded by a second strike in a month after Verdi rejected an improved offer by the airline. Analysts estimated that walkout alone cost Lufthansa more than 15 million euros ($19.5 million).
Verdi has been demanding a 5.2 percent pay rise over 12 months and job guarantees for about 33,000 cabin crew and ground staff at Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Systems and LSG Sky Chefs.
Lufthansa argues it needs to cut costs to cope with higher fuel prices and cut-throat competition. It is slashing 3,500 jobs worldwide as part of a programme to boost operating profit to 2.3 billion euros by 2015.
Initially, it wanted to push through a pay freeze, plus longer working hours. But last week, the airline made an offer that the union said represented a salary increase of about 0.5 percent over a 12-month period, with no job guarantees, which it rejected as insufficient before calling on workers to walk out.
Meanwhile, pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said it had asked Lufthansa this week for a 4.6 percent pay increase for the 2013/2014 period. VC has been demanding a 5.2 percent pay rise for 2012/2013 but said talks with Lufthansa have yielded no results so far..