No quick resolutions are visible during the ongoing labor disputes at Lufthansa involving the specific unions for pilots and cabin crew. The CEO, Carsten Spohr, informed the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Tuesday edition) that the group will not concede to the strikes. Spohr stated to the newspaper that enduring a period with a reduced Lufthansa group service due to strikes was preferable to facing a permanent, significantly downsized core brand. He asserted that restructuring the company into a future-proof international group is essential for its long-term survival.
Significant disruptions occurred last Friday when hundreds of flights were canceled at the core brand and the subsidiary Cityline due to a warning strike by the UFO cabin crew union, just as travelers were returning from the Easter holidays. This week, many pilots are also striking following a call by the VC union for pilots, resulting in only about one out of three short-haul and one out of two long-haul flights running as scheduled. These specific unions are operating independently from Verdi, the Federal Union of Service Employees, with whom Lufthansa only concluded a collective bargaining agreement last Friday for the new subsidiary, City Airlines.
Spohr continues to emphasize the necessity of bringing the core brand’s costs under control to remain competitive. However, he also noted that the union representatives from Cockpit and UFO find themselves in a difficult position: none of the airlines they represent even participate in the positive growth experienced by the overall Lufthansa Group, which comprises 14 airlines. According to Spohr, the root cause lies in “often decades-old complex collective bargaining structures-partially stemming from our time as a state-owned airline”.
Spohr, who has led the European airline giant since 2014, dismissed claims that he is pitting the unions against each other, instead inviting all employee organizations to help create growth opportunities across all flight operations. He added, “Ultimately, the majority of employees decide whose interests they feel are best represented. And they vote differently in different airlines. However, the strategy decided by the management board and the supervisory board remains unaffected by this: We only operate aircraft where they generate value”.
The strikes have unfortunately struck Lufthansa at the peak of its centenary celebrations. A major anniversary ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday in Frankfurt, which is expected to be attended by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU).
The first strike day involving Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, and Eurowings proceeded as anticipated, according to the VC union. For Monday, more than 700 flights were canceled. Andreas Pinheiro, President of VC, stated, “We are monitoring the situation closely and tracking which aircraft remain grounded. So far, the strike is proceeding as expected”.
Pinheiro added that Lufthansa has repeatedly been given enough time to submit a serious proposal. Nonetheless, he deemed an offer that must be financed elsewhere unsustainable, suggesting that management boards would also view such an offer critically, especially when it concerns their own bonuses, which by the way, some have received up to 100 percent, despite the assumed poor financial state of LH Classic, the largest part of the group.
The VC union reiterated its willingness to negotiate, stating, “We are ready for discussions at any time. However, the prerequisite is a viable offer. This applies to Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo regarding the pension plan (bAV), to Cityline regarding the VTV, and similarly for Eurowings regarding the bAV”.
There was an explicit expression of regret for the difficulties faced by passengers and ground staff. Pinheiro remarked, “If we could not strike to achieve movement from the employer side, all that would be left would be collective begging. This cannot be in the spirit of a society that explicitly values employee co-determination, regardless of which union they belong to”. He concluded that a second day of strikes could be averted, as the final decision rests entirely with the employer side. Additionally, the VC is calling on its members to participate in a demonstration march scheduled by the UFO cabin crew union for the upcoming Wednesday at Frankfurt Airport, starting at the Kiss & Fly parking lot at 3:15 PM, followed by a rally.