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Hundreds of flights cancelled as Lufthansa pilots strike - CNN.com
This doesnt look good for the airlines.
.Frankfurt, Germany (CNN) -- Pilots at Lufthansa, one of of the world's largest airlines, went on strike Monday, grounding hundreds of flights per day, a spokeswoman for the airline told CNN.
The four-day walkout by Vereinigung Cockpit, the pilots' union, came after a last-ditch effort at negotiations over pay and job security failed, the company said.
The strike threatened to disrupt travel on more than two dozen partner airlines, including United, U.S Airways and Continental, later on Monday. About 800 of 1,800 scheduled flights per day through Thursday have been canceled, the company said.
But Lufthansa is going to court to try to force the pilots back to work, a top official at the airline said.
A labor court in Frankfurt, Germany's main airline hub, will hear arguments over the strike starting at 5:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET) and is expected to rule by the end of the day, a court representative told CNN.
Lufthansa wants the strike declared illegal on the grounds that it is disproportionate, affecting passengers and 100,000 employees, Klaus Walther, the airline's senior vice president and head of corporate communications said Monday.
More than 4,000 members of Vereinigung Cockpit walked off the job at midnight Monday (6 p.m. Sunday ET) through Thursday over protracted contract negotiations centering around pay and job security.
"Vereinigung Cockpit attempted two times (over the weekend) to get the Lufthansa management to continue negotiations but in the end it showed clearly that Lufthansa is not interested and looks for the confrontation," said Jorg Handwerg, a pilot and representative for the union. "Now they've got it."
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Video: 800 Lufthansa flights canceled The industrial action is the largest in German aviation history, Lufthansa claimed.
"In the eyes of our customers, it looks dramatic. It's the worst strike in the history of German air travel," said Walther, the Lufthansa spokesman. "We are trying behind the scenes with all our available employees to soften the consequences for our customers."
The action by Lufthansa pilots signaled growing labor unrest across Europe. The industrial action by the pilots started the same day that a union representing British Airways cabin staff announced they had voted overwhelmingly Monday to strike, though no date was announced.
British Airways cabin crews vote to strike
On Wednesday in Greece, a mass public and private sector strike is being planned to protest the government's austerity plan.
And French civil aircraft staff, including air traffic controllers, said Monday they planned a four-day strike from Tuesday through Saturday.
Four unions called for the strike, denouncing a governmental project to merge air traffic controls with that of five other European countries -- Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland, according to Eric Heraud, spokesman for France's civil aviation authority, DGAC, or Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile.
The unions are afraid of dismantling DGAC, Heraud said.
Under the new proposal, "nothing will change geographically," he said. "The control towers will stay where they are." Only the "map of the sky" will change, or the sphere of the controllers' concern, Heraud said.
Half of Tuesday's flights at Paris' Orly airport will be canceled because of the action, he said. Twenty-five percent of the flights at Charles de Gaulle Airport will be canceled.
In anticipation of the strike, Lufthansa planned to cancel two-thirds of its scheduled flights involving wide-bodied aircraft from Monday to Thursday. The airline was hoping to meet 50-60 percent of its daily schedule.
CNN's Richard Quest asks: How is the strike affecting you?
The bulk of the disruptions are expected to begin later Monday since most German airports prohibit flights overnight. Two-thirds of the canceled flights are short-haul flights within Europe, said Frank Puettman, a spokesman for Lufthansa in Singapore. One third of the canceled flights are international flights.
Fact Box
What customers can do
Check Lufthansa - Homepage for detailed list of cancelled flights
* If your flight is affected, airline will attempt alternate booking
* Lufthansa will refund tickets or rebook on a later flight
* Domestic German flights can be exchanged for a German rail travel voucher
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Still, passengers at Frankfurt Airport on Sunday were already feeling inconvenienced.
"It makes me angry because for me, normally I would (leave) on Monday morning," said one passenger. "Now I have to go Sunday evening and my family's at home and I have to (return) tomorrow night with the train. So it's uncomfortable."
"It's inconvenient and it's not justified at all," another passenger said.
Company officials admitted it would have a "heavy influence" on its international operations, which includes flights to 80 countries worldwide.
In 2008, Lufthansa was the number two international carrier by passengers with 42.2 million, according to the International Air Transport Association.
The threatened walkout came as the airline industry is digging out of the worst one-year drop-off in flights, according to IATA.
In 2009, revenues dropped nearly 15 percent worldwide after generating a record $535 billion the previous year. Passenger travel fell a record 3.5 percent and freight fell more than 10 percent, according to IATA figures.
Lufthansa officials said at a news conference last Thursday it would cost the airline about $33 million a day.
"We're sorry that the strike apparently doesn't cost enough. Otherwise Lufthansa would show a bit more flexibility," said union official Alexander Gerhard-Madjidi.
Many of Lufthansa's pilots have been working without a contract since March and more than 90 percent of the union's members voted to strike, said Handwerg, the union representative.
The union sought a 6.4 percent pay increase. The union is also concerned with the airline's recent buying spree of small regional carriers, such as BMI and Austrian Airlines which, it says, is cannibalizing flights away from union-flown routes.
The airline is allowing passengers to rebook flights for tickets purchased before February 18 and plans to give German domestic passengers rail vouchers.
Lufthansa is one of the largest carriers on the Star Alliance, a network of 26 airlines that share ticketing and routes for international travel. Travelers on Star Alliance flights are advised to check their tickets for Lufthansa flights and contact their carrier about any potential changes, said Markus Ruediger, Star Alliance spokesman.
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Other Star Alliance member airlines are: Adria, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue 1, BMI, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Egypt Air, Lot Polish Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss, Tap Portugal, Thai Airlines, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines and U.S. Airways.
Partner airlines were preparing for the strike.
"Some of our codeshare flights with Lufthansa may be affected during the period of the strike. We are in contact with Lufthansa and will be informed of the affected flights as soon as details are made available," said Nicholas Ionides, Singapore Airlines spokesman.
"Should there be customers traveling on affected Lufthansa-operated codeshare flights, they will be contacted and re-accommodated on the best next available schedule."
A spokeswoman for Continental Airlines told CNN on Sunday that the airline will offer passengers refunds or rebook their travel if they are affected.
Japan's All Nippon Airways has canceled a total of eight flights to Frankfurt during the strike period, the airline said
This doesnt look good for the airlines.
