Lufthansa pilots step up strike threat as wage talks hit impasse

Bloomberg

Deutsche Lufthansa AG pilots said they have begun preparations to go on strike after failing to reach a wage accord with the airline, potentially creating more chaos after recent labour action already disrupted operations at the height of summer travel season.
“At this point we remain far apart,” Matthias Baier, the spokesman for the Vereinigung Cockpit pilot labour union, said in a statement.
The labour group said it’s initiated “legal and organisational preparations for strike action,” without providing a timetable. Cockpit said that four days of deliberations to reach a wage accord ended without results, and the union said it sees no promising path to continuing negotiations at this point.
Late last month, the union — which represents about 9,600 members — voted overwhelmingly in favour of walkouts. Lufthansa’s pilots are demanding wage increases to help offset the near double-digit rise in consumer prices.
Strikes would trigger additional cancellations on top of the 7,000 flights the company has scratched this summer due to staffing shortages. A walkout by ground crew caused the carrier to scrap hundreds of flights at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs last month.
Europe’s aviation industry has been plagued by chaotic operations in recent months, partly because of a lack of ground personnel in areas from security to baggage handling, and partly because of strikes at airlines as employees grapple with soaring costs of living. Travel demand has roared back as people return to business trips and vacations after being stuck in lockdowns for the
better part of two years.