After six rounds of negotiations with Lufthansa management have failed to reach agreement on a new contract, the Lufthansa pilot’s union is voting through Sunday, July 31, on whether to authorize a possible strike. The pilot’s union has asked for a 5.5 percent raise and future cost-of-living adjustments. The balloting of up to 5,000 Lufthansa pilots could result in a strike as early as next week but could also occur any time later if 70 percent of the pilots authorize a strike. Earlier this week Lufthansa’s European fleet was mostly idled when its ground crews went on a scheduled one-day strike.
Lufthansa, which has the largest airline fleet in Europe, saw its pilots last strike six years ago.
With inflation in Germany running at 8.5 percent, I can understand them wanting a raise, which still falls short of cost-of-living.