Pilot strike suspended, Lufthansa aims for return to normal but warns of flight irregularities
By APTuesday, February 23, 2010
Strike on hold, Lufthansa flights still irregular
BERLIN — Thousands of pilots have gone back to work at German airline Lufthansa after a strike was suspended but the carrier warned Tuesday that its flight schedule won’t return to normal until later this week.
Claudia Lange, a Lufthansa spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that the airline, which averages around 1,800 flights on a normal day, was operating on a reduced schedule. She was unable to specify how many flights would be canceled.
She said the company had warned travelers that “consequences of the strike will lead to continued flight irregularities in the following days.”
Lange added the company was making a list of available flights on its Web site and using social media, including Twitter, to provide updates.
Domestic, European and some long-haul flights were on the schedule, including flights to Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East, but there was only one flight to the U.S., from Munich to Newark, New Jersey.
At Berlin’s Tegel airport, several of its flights were canceled and passengers were seeking seats on rival Air Berlin PLC.
Some 4,000 Lufthansa pilots went on strike Monday. They seek increased work security and want German labor conditions to apply to Lufthansa pilots hired abroad, in an effort to prevent their jobs from migrating to neighboring countries with cheaper conditions.
Lufthansa denied it was planning to relocate the jobs.
The two sides agreed to suspend the walkout until March 9 and resume talks.
Pilots for Lufthansa Cargo and the low-budget subsidiary, Germanwings, had also taken part.
The airline, Germany’s largest, estimated the strike could cost it some euro25 million ($34 million) per day.
Lufthansa, based in Cologne, owns or holds significant stakes in airlines including Swiss International Airlines, Austrian Airlines, JetBlue of the U.S. and Britain’s BMI. Those were not affected.
Lufthansa shares were up 1.7 percent to euro11.19 in Frankfurt trading.
On the Net:
www.lufthansa.com
www.twitter.com/lufthansa_de
