Lufthansa Strike: Special Flight Schedule In Effect For Friday November 25th

Yesterday evening, the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union announced another extension of the strike that has been ongoing since Wednesday.

Tomorrow, Friday, 25 November, all Lufthansa flights within Germany and Europe will be affected. A special flight schedule is in effect for tomorrow.

On Friday, 2,170 of the Lufthansa Group’s approximately 3,000 scheduled flights will be operating as planned. Tomorrow, on the third consecutive day of strikes, over 100,000 passengers will be affected due to the cancellations of 830 short- and medium-haul flights. Long-haul flights will be operating almost as scheduled, although there may be occasional cancellations of these flights resulting from the strikes on the previous days. In total, over 315,000 passengers have been affected by the cancellation of 2,618 flights.

Lufthansa is calling on the pilots’ union once more to develop a joint solution for the dispute through arbitration. Harry Hohmeister, Chief Officer Hub Management of Deutsche Lufthansa AG: “The status quo is that we pay our pilots significantly more than our competitors do. As members of the executive board, we are responsible for more than 120,000 employees and want to keep Lufthansa viable for the future. That will not be possible with a demand for a 20 percent increase in pay.”

The Group airlines Eurowings, Germanwings, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Air Dolomiti and Brussels Airlines are not affected by the strike. The pilots of Lufthansa Cargo have also not been called on to strike. Flights to and from Germany that are operated by Group airlines are proceeding as scheduled. Austrian Airlines and SWISS have also increased their capacity on flights to Germany by using larger aircraft for the time being.

Customers whose flights have been cancelled due to the strike have the one-time option to transfer or cancel their booking free of charge. In addition to this, all passengers with tickets for flights travelling to, from or through Germany by tomorrow have the one-time option to transfer their booking at no cost. For routes within Germany, there is also the option to exchange the flight ticket for a Deutsche Bahn voucher. On LH.com, passengers can find additional information under “Aktuelle Fluginformationen” (current travel information).

Lufthansa is doing everything in its power to minimize the impact of the strike on its guests. Thousands of hotel rooms have been booked in the Rhine-Main and Munich areas. For passengers who cannot enter Germany due to visa restrictions, Lufthansa has set up folding cots in cooperation with Fraport. Employees are providing passengers in the terminals who have been affected by the strike with beverages, snacks and telecommunication options. Lufthansa is notifying all passengers that have provided contact information in their customer profiles of any cancellations by e-mail or SMS.

Lufthansa is asking all its customers to take precaution by checking the status of their flight on LH.com before travelling to the airport. Customers in Germany can also call our free hotline at 0800 850 60 70 for information (free from German landlines).

The Germanwings Brand Is Dead, Long Live The Eurowings!

COLOGNE, Germany - It had been planned before the tragic loss of Airbus A320 D-AIPX on 24 March 2015. The Lufthansa brand Germanwings will cease to exist from this autumn. The budget division of the LH Group, short haul and long haul, will take on the established Eurowings name.

Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of Germanwings, will transfer to another subsidiary Austrian Airlines. Here he replaces current CEO Jaan Albrecht who is moving on to the Lufthansa/Turkish airlines joint venture SunExpress, long established as a charter/low cost operator of leisure services to and from Turkey.

Similarly, American low-cost carrier ValuJet suffered two fatal accidents, in these cases due to lax aircraft diligence. In what was in effect a reverse takeover in July 1997 ValuJet acquired Air Tran, and subsequently traded under that title, ValuJet being quickly forgotten. Air Tran disappeared as an airline in November 2014 following a buyout by Air South West.

For the past few weeks and months, Lufthansa has been busy changing flight codes so that by November the 4U code used by Germanwings will switch to Eurowings' EW code. In the case of flights between the UK and Germany, this has already happened but at Heathrow travelers still need to follow the Germanwings signs at T2.

Travelore Breaking News: Germanwings Jet Crashes In Alps With 150 Aboard; No Survivors Expected

By Lori Hinnant, AP

A man who appears to have waited for the missing flight 4U 9525 reacts at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany, Tuesday, March 24, 2015, after a Germanwings passenger jet carrying 148 people crashed in the French Alps region as it traveled from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

PARIS - A passenger jet carrying 150 people crashed Tuesday in the French Alps as it flew from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, authorities said. As search-and-rescue teams struggled to get to the remote, snow-covered region, France's president warned that no survivors were expected.

The crash site was at Meolans-Revels, near the popular ski resort of Pra Loup, according to Eric Ciotti, the head of the regional council in southeast France. The site is 700 kilometers (430 miles) south-southeast of Paris. But with mountains all around and few clear trails into the area, access to the crash site was expected to take time.

The Germanwings Airbus A320 plane left Barcelona at 9:55 a.m., sent out a distress signal at 10:45 a.m., then crashed in a mountainous zone in France at an altitude of about 2,000 meters (6,550 feet), said Pierre-Henry Brandet, the French Interior Ministry spokesman.

Brandet told BFM television he expected "an extremely long and extremely difficult" search-and-rescue operation because of the area's remoteness.

Germanwings official Oliver Wagner told German television that Germanwings flight 9525 carried 144 passengers and 6 crew members. He did not give a breakdown of nationalities on board.

Germanwings is a lower-cost unit of Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline. It has been operating since 2002, part of traditional national carriers' response from rising European budget carriers. It serves mainly European destinations. I

The Germanwings logo, normally maroon and yellow, was blacked out on its Twitter feed.

Family members arriving at Duesseldorf airport were taken from the main terminal to a nearby building, which airport employees partially covered with sheets for privacy. At Barcelona airport, police escorted several crying women to a part of the airport away from the media. One woman held a jacket over the head of another woman, who was sobbing.

The owner of a campground near the crash site, Pierre Polizzi, said he heard the plane making curious noises shortly before it crashed.

"At 11.30, I heard a series of loud noises in the air. There are often fighter jets flying over, so I thought it sounded just like that. I looked outside, but I couldn't see any fighter planes," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "The noise I heard was long - like 8 seconds - as if the plane was going more slowly than a military plane. There was another long noise after about 30 seconds."

Polizzi said the plane crashed about 5-to-8 kilometers (3-to-11 miles) from his place, which is closed for the season.

"It's going to be very difficult to get there. The mountain is snowy and very hostile," he said.

The municipal sports hall of Seyne-les-Alpes, 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Val d'Allos ski resort, was being set up to take bodies or survivors from the crash, according to Sandrine Julien of the town hall.

There was no obvious weather reason Tuesday why the plane went down. Capt. Benoit Zeisser of the nearby Digne-le-Bains police said there were some clouds but the cloud ceiling was not low.

In addition, the safest part of a flight is when the plane is at cruising elevation. Just 10 percent of fatal accidents occur at that point, according to a safety analysis by Boeing. In contrast, takeoff and the initial climb accounts for 14 percent of crashes and final approach and landing accounts for 47 percent.

In a live briefing Tuesday, Hollande said it was likely that a number of the victims were German.

"It's a tragedy on our soil," he said.

The last time a passenger jet crashed in France was the 2000 Concorde accident, which left 113 dead - 109 in the plane and four on the ground.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with both Hollande and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy about the crash, immediately cancelling all other appointments.

At a briefing in Berlin, Merkel told reporters she would travel to the crash site region on Wednesday, and that Germany's foreign and transport ministers were already en route. She said her thoughts were "with those people who so suddenly lost their lives, among them many compatriots."

"The crash of the German plane with more than 140 people on board is a shock that plunges us in Germany, the French and the Spanish into deep sorrow," Merkel said.

She reminded everyone that the cause was not known.

"We still don't know much beyond the bare information on the flight, and there should be no speculation on the cause of the crash," she said. "All that will be investigated thoroughly."

The A320 plane is a workhorse of modern aviation. Similar to the Boeing 737, the single-aisle, twin-engine jet is used to connect cities between one and five hours apart. Worldwide, 3,606 A320s are in operation, according to Airbus.

The A320 is certified to fly up to 39,000 feet but it can begin to experience problems as low as 37,000 feet, depending on temperature and weight, including fuel, cargo and passengers.

The A320 family also has a good safety record, with just 0.14 fatal accidents per million takeoffs, according to a Boeing safety analysis.

The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation was sending three people to France to join the investigation. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, the country's top security official, and the German ambassador in Paris were among those heading to the crash site.

In Madrid, Rajoy suspended his agenda to preside over an emergency government meeting about the crash.

"Like everyone, I lament this incredibly sad and dramatic accident," Rajoy said.

Antonio San Jose, spokesman for the Spanish airport authority AENA, said his agency was working with Germanwings to reach out to relatives of the victims.

Spain's king and queen, in Paris on Tuesday, canceled their previously planned state visit and offered their condolences to all who lost a loved one in the crash.

___

Thomas Adamson and Elaine Ganley in Paris, David McHugh in Frankfurt, Geir Moulson and David Rising in Berlin, Frank Augstein in Duesseldorf, Al Clendenning in Madrid, Joe Wilson in Barcelona and AP Airlines writer Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed.

Travelore Update: Lufthansa Strike Situation For Saturday March 21st

On the fourth day of strike action in a row, around half of Lufthansa’s scheduled long-haul and cargo flights will take off

Lufthansa Cargo will be able to operate 40 per cent of its flights
Another special flight timetable has been published on LH.com
Lufthansa notified more than 84,000 passengers by SMS and 34,000 by email

Despite the fourth day of strike action in a row, Lufthansa will be able to operate around half of its flights on Saturday, 21 March. However, around 20,000 passengers will still be affected by flight cancellations on Saturday. Even before the second day of strike action ended, the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union (VC) had already called for another strike – the fourth this week. The four-day strike is therefore the longest to date in a series of twelve and will affect 220,000 passengers in total.

The strike on Saturday, 21 March will hit Lufthansa’s long-haul flights and Lufthansa Cargo’s flights. Lufthansa’s short and medium-haul flights and Germanwings’ flights will not be affected by Saturday’s strike.
More than 40 per cent of cargo flights scheduled for Saturday will operate. 86 of Lufthansa German Airlines’ 160 scheduled intercontinental flights will take off. All Germanwings, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines flights will also depart.
Lufthansa has published a special flight timetable on www.LH.com for the entire strike period. The special flight timetable for short and medium-haul flights today, Friday, 20 March will operate as scheduled.
Lufthansa will be concentrating on informing and assisting the passengers affected by the strike. The company has sent a total of 84,000 SMS and 34,000 emails since the strike began so that customers are notified as early as possible.

Lufthansa will also be supported by other airlines within the Lufthansa Group in order to get as many passengers as possible to their destinations. The other airlines in the Lufthansa Group will use bigger aircraft for their flights to and from Germany wherever possible. Lufthansa sincerely apologizes to its passengers for the inconvenience caused.

Passengers whose flights have been cancelled can rebook onto other flights at no charge under “My Bookings”. In addition, customers can already check in there for an alternative flight if possible. Passengers whose flights have not been cancelled and who are in possession of a ticket from Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines or Brussels Airlines for the period from 21 to 23 March 2015 to, from or via Frankfurt, Munich or Düsseldorf can rebook their flights on a one-off basis at no charge online under “My Bookings”.

Lufthansa Publishes Special Flight Timetable For Strike

Despite the third day of strike action in a row, the Lufthansa Group will once again operate three quarters of its 3,000 daily flights on March 20, 2015.

Long-haul flights will depart as scheduled again on Friday.

The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union (VC) has called another strike on Lufthansa’s short and medium-haul flights for tomorrow, 20 March 2015 – the third strike in three days. Lufthansa will have to cancel 700 flights as a result of the VC strike, which is only 50 per cent of its total number of 1,400 flights scheduled for tomorrow. Nevertheless, 84,000 passengers in total will be affected by the strike-related flight cancellations. The company sincerely apologizes to its passengers for the inconvenience caused.

Unrelated to the VC strike, a further 90 flights with around 10,000 passengers will unfortunately have to be cancelled too, due to the strike by Italian air traffic controllers which will also take place tomorrow.

Lufthansa’s long-haul flights will not be affected by the strike on Friday. They will therefore operate largely as normal tomorrow. All Germanwings, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines flights will also depart as scheduled. In spite of the strike action announced, the Lufthansa Group will operate around three quarters of its 3,000 daily flights on 20 March 2015.

Lufthansa is doing everything it can to minimize the impact of the VC strike. The other airlines in the Lufthansa Group will once again use bigger aircraft for their flights to and from Germany wherever possible.

Lufthansa flights will operate largely as scheduled again on Saturday when the strike is over.

Passengers whose flights had to be cancelled due to the strike can rebook or cancel their flights at no charge. In addition, all passengers in possession of a ticket from Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines or Brussels Airlines for flights on 20 March 2015 to, from or via Frankfurt and Munich can rebook their flights on a one-off basis at no charge online under “My Bookings” with certain conditions. Tickets for domestic German flights can be exchanged for rail tickets.

Travelore News: Lufthansa Publishes Flight Timetables For Vereinigung Strike For October 20th & 21st

·         Around half the flights planned from Munich during the strike period will take off as normal

·         A large number of short and medium-haul flights and nearly all long-haul flights from Frankfurt will have to be canceled on Tuesday

·         Special flight timetables should enable flight operations to return to plan once the strike is over

Following the announcement by the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union that a strike will take place from October 20, 1.00 p.m. CEST until October 21, 11.59 p.m. CEST, Lufthansa has published a second special flight timetable on www.LH.com this morning. This supplements the first special flight plan published yesterday and includes other flights to and from Munich that will be operating in spite of the strike. Around half of all Lufthansa’s planned short, medium and long-haul flights from Munich are expected to take place during the strike period. The short and medium-haul flights will predominately be operated by Lufthansa’s regional subsidiary, CityLine, which is not affected by the strike. The special flight plan for Munich was also published this morning.

The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union announced early this morning its intention to extend the strikes to long-haul connections on Tuesday and flight traffic will see much more severe disruption tomorrow as a result. On Tuesday, Lufthansa will have to cancel the majority of short and medium-haul flights to and from Frankfurt and suspend almost all long-haul traffic. The airline published a third special flight plan with information on flights to and from Frankfurt on its website this afternoon. Long-haul flights to and from Düsseldorf should operate on schedule despite the strike.

Lufthansa published a special flight plan for the first 24 hours of the strike yesterday. Its intention was to operate around 700 of the 2,150 flights planned for the strike period. The union’s surprising announcement this morning that the strike would be expanded,made it necessary to cancel other flights and update the flight timetables once again. By drawing up special flight plans, Lufthansa intends to ensure that scheduled operations can be resumed at all sites as soon as the strike comes to an end.

Simone Menne, Chief Officer Finances and Aviation Services at Deutsche Lufthansa AG, criticized the actions of the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union and said, “The strikes not only cause severe economic damage to Lufthansa, but they also harm its reputation, with considerable consequences for our company and employees that remain unforeseeable even today. Why the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union is blocking a solution to the collective bargaining conflict without compromise, is no longer comprehensible. This is despite the fact that all the other groups of employees have made a constructive contribution to Lufthansa’s success in the future. Our investors expect sustainable and competitive structures across all areas. This also applies to retirement and transitional benefits.”

Lufthansa will be concentrating today and tomorrow on informing and assisting the passengers affected by the strike. Passengers whose flights are canceled due to the strike have the option of rebooking or canceling the flight free of charge. Passengers who have booked a flight for October 20 or 21 that will not be canceled, can also rebook their ticket for free. Tickets for domestic German flights can also be exchanged for a train ticket at www.LH.com or at a Lufthansa Quick Check-In machine. Some 60,000 text messages and 30,000 emails have been sent to passengers who have provided their contact details, notifying them of changes to the flight timetable. The airline has already reserved 3,800 hotel rooms for passengers stranded because of the strike. Call center capacities have been maximized. Snacks, drinks and additional staff members will also be on hand to help passengers with re-bookings at the airports in Frankfurt and Munich.

Lufthansa employees are continuing to work around-the-clock, primarily to reroute transfer passengers via the hubs in Zurich, Vienna or Brussels, in order to get them to their destination on schedule despite the strike. Flights operated by the Lufthansa Group airlines Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Germanwings, SWISS and Air Dolomiti (operated by OS, SN, 4U, LX, EN) will take place as planned during the strike. Lufthansa Cargo is also largely unaffected by the strike.