Lufthansa pilots call for walkouts
Lufthansa pilots turned up the pressure on management in a
dispute over early retirement provisions Monday by calling a fourth day of
walkouts, the latest challenge to cost-cutting at Europe 's
older airlines, reports AFP.
Just a day after pilots at French flag carrier Air France
ended their longest-ever strike, Lufthansa pilots announced nearly a full-day
of stoppages on long-haul flights out of Frankfurt
for Tuesday.
The pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit called on its members
to strike on long-haul flights departing from
Lufthansa pilots are striking over changes to their
retirement benefits, which are being brought in as part of deep structuring by
the German carrier in recent years to bring down costs.
Pilots can currently take paid early retirement from the age
of 55. They are fighting a plan by the airline to raise the minimum age and to
involve pilots in the financing of their pensions.
Cockpit already grounded thousands of flights of its parent
company Lufthansa during three days of strikes in March and April, costing the
airline around 60 million euros ($76 million).
The walkouts come as Europe 's
long-established airlines are feeling the heat of cut-throat competition from
low-cost rivals and stricter regulation.
"The environment within the sector has become more
difficult," said DZ Bank analyst Dirk Schlamp, questioning whether the
current early retirement provisions were "really very appropriate in this
day and age".
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