GERMANY: Lufthansa cancels 25 percent of its flights as cabin crews strike over pay and cost-cutting measures

Record ID: 340942

  • Title: GERMANY: Lufthansa cancels 25 percent of its flights as cabin crews strike over pay and cost-cutting measures
  • Date: 31st August 2012
  • Summary: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (AUGUST 31, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS NIGHT SHOTS OF LUFTHANSA PLANES PARKED AT FRANKFURT AIRPORT, SO FAR THE ONLY PLACE AFFECTED BY THE 0300-1100 GMT CABIN CREW STRIKE HIGH SHOT OF PASSENGERS IN DEPARTURES TERMINAL VARIOUS OF ELECTRONIC BOARDS SHOWING CANCELLED FLIGHTS VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS STANDING IN LINES AT CHECK-IN COUNTERS WIDE OF TERMINAL VARIOUS O
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Economy
  • Reuters ID: LVA2XWL6GL2779MV55VVBO3Z3VJ7
  • Story Text: Lufthansa passengers faced widespread flight disruptions from Friday (August 31) after the German carrier's cabin crew went on an 8-hour-long strike.
    The UFO union, which represents around two-thirds of Lufthansa's 19,000 cabin crew, late on Thursday called on its members to strike from 0300 GMT to 1100 GMT on Friday in Frankfurt.
    Lufthansa plans to cancel 64 flights, or 25 percent of the flights during the duration of the strike, according to a spokesman.
    The strike would also lead to "unplanned delays", the company said in a statement on its website. The airline planned to operate a total of 840 flights on Friday.
    The strikes come as Lufthansa cuts jobs and implements a three-year cost-cutting programme to boost margins and finance investment in planes in the face of a weakening economy, high fuel costs and increased competition from low-cost carriers.
    Germany's leading airline, which operates around 1,850 flights daily mostly from Frankfurt and Munich, needs to generate more profit to pay for 17 billion euros ($21 billion) of more fuel-efficient aircraft on order.
    Lufthansa and the UFO union have been negotiating for 13 months, with the union demanding a 5 percent pay rise and guarantees that Lufthansa will not outsource jobs and use more temporary workers, as it has already done in Berlin.
    Talks broke down on Tuesday, and while Lufthansa has called for further negotiations, it maintains that cabin crew must contribute to the cost-cutting programme.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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