Pilot strike announced for 22-25 February at Lufthansa

[euroflyer]

The trade union of LH pilots ("cockpit") will announce today the results of a ballot on going on strike. Main issue seems to be job security. Trade union says (!) it would even accept a zero increase of salaries, if LH gives a guaranty that not more routes will be passed on to lower cost subsidiaries of LH (like Cityline, Eurowings, German Wings, LH Italia, but probably as well SN, OS, bmi, etcetera). A support of more than 70% in the ballot is necessary for a lawful strike action.

Media reports LH is preparing itself for a full-scale strike action similar to that in 2001, when pilots were on strike for several days ... ... At that time an emergency flight plan had been in force with only very few EU and domestic routes still served, those flights had to be booked separately (I remember because I was lucky to get a ticket for one of those FRA-TXL-FRA service which was flown at that time by the chief pilot trainer of the A300 fleet himself).

Source (in German): http://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Lufthansa ... 32098.html

If you ask me, crazy to gon on strike in that economic situation. Negotiations in most big German sectors are trying to go for zero increases this year with some (!) kind of guarantee for levels of employment, but well, we will see what will happen.

[tolipanebas]

Also on:

http://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen ... or;2531126

[b-west]

I suppose SN, OS & BD will see a lot of extra pax on their flights to and from Germany for these few days.

[euroflyer]

Strike action has been announced from Monday 22 Feb early morning until Thursday 25 Feb late evening; this would mean 4 full days. It looks like all pilots of LH mainline, LH cargo and German Wings are included. So reginal carriers like Cityline, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti, etc. will probably continue to operate and might be used to take over some main routes.

Will be interesting to see if LH tries to cover some European routes (like FRA-BRU, MUC-BRU, FRA-ZRH, FRA-LHR or FRA-VIE with an increased use of SN, OS, BMI or LX. Do not know to what extend that would be possible at all.

I for my part have just reserved places for my FRA-BRU-FRA trip next Monday / Tuesday on the train ... ...

[LJ]

I suppose SN, OS & BD will see a lot of extra pax on their flights to and from Germany for these few days.

However they will probably not operate extra flights or extra capacity. I don´t know the situation between the unions at LH and SN, but when KL strikes AF may not cover for KL and vice versa

[Air Key West]

Although I am a big aviation fan, I must admit that since LH as a monopoly on the BRU-FRA route and the increase in air fares, I have used the ICE trains a couple of times and have found them to be much more convenient (and cheaper) than the plane. So, I'm afraid LH has lost a customer on this route. But this is off topic. Sorry.
As to the strike, well, asking for a say (participation) from the pilots in management decision making is probably going a bit to far, offering a zero % wage increase and asking for no externalisation of pure LH flights to subsidiary carriers does not seem unreasonable to me. Even in difficult economic times, you don't have to accept everything an employer wants or would like, and every worker should fight for his job, his working and pay conditions. But don't forget that Christophe Franz, the new guy in LH's top management team, has announced he wants to make (one billion euros ?) in savings. And he's serious about it. So, I wonder if he's going to win this clash with a powerful union.

[Conti764]

Although I am a big aviation fan, I must admit that since LH as a monopoly on the BRU-FRA route and the increase in air fares, I have used the ICE trains a couple of times and have found them to be much more convenient (and cheaper) than the plane. So, I'm afraid LH has lost a customer on this route. But this is off topic. Sorry.

Slightly off-topic, but FRA has a pretty nice high speed railway station. Soon BRU will be directly connected to the Dutch border and Belgiums high speed network will be finished. There will be a nice network in Belgium, France, The Netherlands and Germany.

It wouldn't be a bad idea for LH, or any carrier for that matter, to include high speed train companies into their alliances, allowing them to operate fast, environmental friendly and convenient connections to certain airports which are better to be served by train then by plane. Or at least, expand a codesharing program with those companies.

In Europe with its vast railway network and growing high speed operations, combinig HST and aviation is the way to follow in the future. The investment is often shared with governments and train operators, whereas acquiring planes is an investment only done by the airline itself.

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Completly off-topic I know but:

If you want to compare air travel with HST net, it's gonna be hard..
Booked a train ticket THALYS to Paris for this monday 08h37 departure.
Offcourse due to the traincollision my 'flight/ride' was cancelled, we returned to BXL.
In BRU there was NOTHING to do,no deals,no briefings,no solutions.
Go back and find it out yourself.
God bless the pax of the trains and the death.
These were circumstances that Thalys nothing could do in the end.
But UNTIL now I didn't received ANY info about my trainticket and how to get to Paris.
The callcenter is full and says go to the website,the website tells you call the callcenter!
Ever tried to book an online Thalys ticket,cost me more than 1 hour !!
SO.. as an aviation enthousiast.. and as a customer...
This would never happen in the airline industry,surely not after 3 days !
Pity Paris is so close and I am so poor I couldn't afford an SN plane ticket.
Next time Thalys to Paris,YES ( or FR must get an idea ) but Germany and UK are definately destinations for airtravel !
HST cheap ? Forget it ( 250eur to Paris, 125 euro in promo?, give me FR or EZY ! )
Maybe they will have alliances in the future but some politics in HST management must change a lot IMHO.
I never cheered for FR/EZY for a lot of years but since I tried them I won't compare them with SN or.. but
they suit me much more than travel by rail. ( lot cheaper,relaxed and you know what you paid for,.. )
CX-B

Sorry off-topic, I know but after 3 days of rail-problems I couldn't help it



( not speaking so eco now,I know )

[LJ]

It wouldn't be a bad idea for LH, or any carrier for that matter, to include high speed train companies into their alliances, allowing them to operate fast, environmental friendly and convenient connections to certain airports which are better to be served by train then by plane. Or at least, expand a codesharing program with those companies.

This is already done. KL was one of the companies which would be the operator of the HST between Amsterdam and the border... And here lies the problem. The concessions are on a national level. Furthermore, the national railroad operators dominate their market (and they want t protect these markets).

However, KL does codeshare to Antwerp, LH does have codshares on ICE trains throughout Germany and AF does the same in France.

[euroflyer]

However, KL does codeshare to Antwerp, LH does have codshares on ICE trains throughout Germany and AF does the same in France.

Yes, LH stopped flights between FRA and Cologne for exampe after the added seats o the ICE under LH flight numbers.

[sn26567]

Strike action called by Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union totally inappropriate

The German pilots’ union, Vereinigung Cockpit, has today announced its decision to call Lufthansa pilots out on strike. The decision comes despite the willingness shown by Lufthansa to reach a negotiated settlement demanded by the pilots’ union at long and intensive talks. In addition to demands on job security, however, the union also insisted on a greater say on fundamental entrepreneurial issues, equating to intervention in business management at the Airline. That demand cannot be accepted.

A strike will appreciably damage the Company, its customers and staff. The union’s call for strike action, despite numerous proposals on job security put forward by Lufthansa is entirely inappropriate. In the interests of the Company and its customers, the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union is urged to return to the negotiating table in order to work out a constructive solution to the dispute. Lufthansa will go to every length to minimise the impact of a stoppage on customers and passengers.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG Corporate Communications 17.02.10

[sn26567]

Information on pilots’ strike for Lufthansa passengers

The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union has called on Lufthansa pilots to participate in a fourday walkout from 22 to 25 February. Lufthansa regrets any inconvenience that the industrial action may cause passengers.
Lufthansa has set up a free number - 0800 / 8 50 60 70 - for customers to call and obtain information about their flight bookings (re-bookings/cancellations). Information about ongoing flight operations can be acquired at any time under “Arrival and Departure” at www.lufthansa.com.

Passengers already booked on a Lufthansa flight in the period from 22 to 25.02.2010 can rebook once free of charge on another Lufthansa flight, if they wish to change their travel plans – provided their ticket was issued before 18. February, the new travel date is before 31.03.2010 and no change is made in their departure and arrival destinations.

Applicable rules for flight cancellations caused by strike action:
Should the purpose of a journey become null and void because of a flight cancellation, passengers can annul their flight booking free of charge.

Passengers travelling within Germany can switch to a journey by rail with Deutsche Bahn, if their flights have to be cancelled. For that purpose, they must exchange their electronic ticket (etix) for a travel voucher at a Lufthansa automatic check-in terminal. Alternatively, customers can buy a train ticket for the route for which their flight ticket was valid. The train ticket can then be submitted with the flight ticket to Lufthansa for a refund.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG Corporate Communications 17.02.10

[euroflyer]

Was interesting to see that the main TV news last night in Germany, which all covered the strike announcement, all gave the case of LH taking over Brussels Airlines (yes !) as one example of how LH is trying to switch routes from its own 'classic fleet' to new 'low-cost subsidiaries'. This was given as the main reason for the strike action. The 'tagesschau' even showed a picture of a Brussels Airlines A330 taking off while explaining the case for the strike.

And frankly, yes I think this is right. Pilots at LH 'classic' do fight for their piece of the cake with their working conditions and they fight against more work to be shifted to LH Cityline, Brussels Airlines, bmi, Austrian, etcetera which probably all work with (much?) lower fixed costs. This is exactly the area in which they want to have a say on how the company is managed ...

[tolipanebas]

And frankly, yes I think this is right. Pilots at LH 'classic' do fight for their piece of the cake with their working conditions and they fight against more work to be shifted to LH Cityline, Brussels Airlines, bmi, Austrian, etcetera which probably all work with (much?) lower fixed costs. This is exactly the area in which they want to have a say on how the company is managed ...

What is urgently needed within the LH group of airlines is a harmonisation of labour and wage conditions, NOT through a 'race to the bottom', but rather a salary increase for those who are underpaid within the group right now.

I definitely wouldn't mind being paid the same as my colleagues at LH and I know they will think it is a good idea too...

Now, all that is needed is some arm twisting from ALL pilots to force the group's management to see it that way too, and we'll all be better off, both the employees (no more unfair internal competition) as well as the customers (happy staff, not going on strike).



If you want an in-depth explanation of the conflict, I suggest:
http://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen ... ht;2531319
it's all in German, but even if you don't understand a word of it, the dossier has some very nice pictures to watch at. Enjoy reading and watching!

[euroflyer]

What is urgently needed within the LH group of airlines is a harmonisation of labour and wage conditions, NOT through a 'race to the bottom', but rather a salary increase for those who are underpaid within the group right now.
I definitely wouldn't mind being paid the same as my colleagues at LH and I know they will think it is a good idea too...

I can certainly understand your personal point of view (and I would not see it different if I would be affected ), but I guess that is not what LH management had in mind when taking over SN and all the others . And we all know what happened to eurowings, their fleet and staff just very recently. LH can be fast and powerful if they have to in order to stay competitive (by the way I have not heard anything on this by the pilot union???) And the interviews I heard last night on TV showed less solidarity by LH pilots than you may wish, they were angry that they could see more and more planes of SN, OS, LX etcetera on the tarmac in TXL, HAM, FRA, MUC and so on when at the same time a part of LH's fleet is being parked in the desert. In short: they want you to be parked in the desert instead of them

[tolipanebas]

Don't confuse what is at stake, i.e. the rejection by LH of the offer from VC to freeze all wages for 12 months, in return for guarantees on employment, with what might come out of it if they don't change their mind and which I have talked about.

Currently, the issue is purely internal to LH airlines, but it could turn international indeed, in which case my proposal is what is likely going to be the united unions point of view, as it suits all of us. For once, this is an easy one on our side, really!

Wonder if that is what LH's management wants to see as an outcome: a conflict spreading internationally around their airlines, with no other solution but to give in and caugh up many extra millions to increase wages at their other main brands like OS, SN or BD...

Mind you, they have had to do it at LX, to satisfy VC, so it would mean history repeating itself.

[Air Key West]

Apparently, in theory, there is a European works council (Europese ondernemingsraad/comité d'entreprise européen) for LH and its subsidiaries, which was set up in 1996. See below.
http://www.ewcdb.org/show_pdf_first_pag ... nt=258.pdf
Is this works council active ? Have pilots unions been invited, informed, consulted ? I know that European works councils are not very useful for employees, but they are better than nothing.
Otherwise, what about taking the intiative to create an international union for LH Group pilots bringing together the national unions under one roof ?

[sn26567]

Austrian and Swiss have already issued statements saying that they would assist LH passengers, especially in routes from their home country to/from Germany (rebooking, rerouting, reimbursement, etc.). SN, where are you?

[cnc]

i have hardly ever seen a decent reason to strike (besides an employer who was not going to pay all the extra hours of work)
i guess i have some weird logic, if you don't like the company search for an other job.
the obvious logic would be, get a job and then force the company to adjust to your needs?

[TCAS_climb]

The European Cockpit Association just published a small article on this issue: http://www.eurocockpit.be/index.php/com ... ho-is-next