Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
After a truly chaotic summer for travel, passengers can finally breathe a little easier: Lufthansa has reached a deal with pilots that rules out industrial action until at least summer 2023.
The approximately 5.000 Lufthansa pilots represented by the Vereinigung Cockpit union in Germany have won out in their battle to secure higher salaries and bonuses in negotiations with the airline. Both sides have signed a peace obligation that rules out any strike action until June 20, 2023.
For passengers, this should assuage fears that pilots might stage another round of strikes at other busy periods targeted to cause maximum disruption, for instance over the Christmas holidays. After a summer that saw thousands of Lufthansa flights cancelled, many of them last-minute, the next 10 months should be blissfully disruption-free at German airports.
However, for Lufthansa the peace has come at a significant cost. Pilots working for Lufthansa and its cargo division will see their salaries increase twice: the first flat-rate increase of 490 euros gross per month will apply retroactively from August 1, 2022. A second flat-rate increase of 490 euros will follow in April 2023.
For lower-earning workers, this equates to a double-digit salary increase: according to Lufthansa, co-pilots in the early stages of their careers will get a raise of around 20 percent, while captains will receive around 5,5 percent more.
“The good monetary result is pleasing, but we are also pleased that we were able to take another step towards a more sustainable partnership,” Marcel Grӧls, chairperson of collective bargaining policy at Vereinigung Cockpit, told ARD. “We are currently on the right track with Lufthansa.”