Travelore News Update: Lufthansa's Response To Labor Court Ruling

Lufthansa welcomes the decision of the Hessen Labor Court in Frankfurt am Main to prohibit the strike action by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union with immediate effect.

The Court described the VC’s strike action as “evidently unlawful” in that, for the VC, the strike was clearly motivated not only by the official reason stated, i.e. pilots’ transitional retirement provisions, but also by the Wings Concept of the Lufthansa Group. This was not, the Court found, a valid strike objective. The Court further noted that the VC was not prepared to enter into overall mediation unless the Wings Concept was included therein.

The Court’s ruling does not permit recourse to any further legal channels.   

Lufthansa will offer its customers flight schedules that are virtually back to normal from tomorrow onwards, together with its usual reliable service. For planning certainty reasons, today’s special timetable will remain in effect.

Lufthansa remains willing to resume its negotiations on all open collective labor agreement items with the VC’s Group Collective Labor Agreement Committee at any time. “Our goal is still to work with the VC to find a joint solution to all the open CLA issues through the negotiating process,” confirms Dr. Bettina Volkens, Chief Officer Corporate Human Resources of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

Lufthansa Publishes Special Timetable For Tuesday September 8th: More Than Half Of All Planned Long-Haul Flights To Operate

Special timetable now available online – travelers proactively informed – 84 of 1,500 planned Tuesday flights cancelled – 90 intercontinental passenger services and all cargo flights to operate thanks to volunteer pilots

Lufthansa has published a special timetable for its services tomorrow Tuesday 8 September. The action has been taken following a call by the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union (VC) for its members at Lufthansa German Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo to take strike action.

A total of 1,500 passenger flights (including some 170 long-haul services) and seven cargo flights were scheduled to be operated during the planned strike period tomorrow.

With a relatively large number of cockpit personnel indicating their willingness to fly, the airline will be able to operate more than half of its intercontinental passenger services despite the VC’s strike call. All in all, 84 long-haul services from or to Frankfurt, Munich or Düsseldorf will have to be cancelled, while 90 such flights can be operated.   

The willingness of many pilots to work despite the strike call will also permit all seven scheduled cargo flights for Tuesday to be performed. Lufthansa Cargo will thus be able to maintain its full flight program.

A small number of inbound intercontinental flights to Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf will also have to be cancelled today, to ensure that flight operations can resume as smoothly as possible on Wednesday after the strike.

Any customers whose flight is cancelled as a result of the strike will be able to rebook or to cancel their booking free of charge or penalty.

Lufthansa is doing its utmost to minimize the impact of this strike action on its customers. All Lufthansa customers holding tickets for long-haul travel from or to Frankfurt, Munich or Düsseldorf are urged to check the latest status of their flight on LH.com well in advance of their scheduled departure.

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”.

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.

Travelore News: All Lufthansa Long-Haul Flights From Frankfurt To Depart Today, 9/16, Despite Strike

Departure times of some long-haul flights changed / Passengers will be informed as early as possible

After announcement from the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union that they will boycott the long-haul flights from Frankfurt today, /16.  The plan is for all 40 long-haul flights scheduled to depart tomorrow during the strike to take place. It is thus expected that the strike will not lead to any flight cancellations tomorrow, rather just to a change in the departure times of 24 long-haul flights from Frankfurt. The amended flight times will be published on www.LH.com at present.

Passengers booked on a long-haul flight from Frankfurt tomorrow are requested to inform themselves of the changed flight times as early as possible. Lufthansa is sending text messages and emails to those passengers who registered their preferred method of contact as such.

About Lufthansa

One of the world's largest and most prestigious airlines, Lufthansa currently flies to 253 destinations in 103 countries, with hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, and with the Lufthansa Group acquisition of Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and SWISS – Vienna, Brussels and Zurich.  From its 20 North American gateways, Lufthansa and its partners serve over 450 destinations in more than 120 countries.  An industry innovator, Lufthansa has long been committed to environmental care and sustainability, operating the most technologically-advanced and fuel-efficient fleet in the world.  Its long-haul fleet to and from North America includes the Boeing 747-400 and the 747-8, as well as the Airbus A330, A340 and A380.  Currently, Lufthansa has nearly 300 new aircraft worth about $48 billion on order.  Lufthansa is the largest European operator of the A380 and was the launch customer for the new Boeing 747-8, the industries’ two most fuel-efficient passenger aircraft.  Known for its premium services, Lufthansa continues its $150 million program earmarked for building new or upgrading existing lounge facilities across its worldwide network and will spend more than $3.6 billion in new onboard products and services by 2015.  In 2010, Lufthansa re-launched its broadband wireless Internet service onboard, FlyNet.  For more information or reservations, visitwww.LH.com.

Travelore News: Lufthansa Notifies Passengers Of Strike Consequences

14,000 text messages sent to registered customers / 2,200 hotel rooms booked in the Rhine-Main area and 500 field beds set up as a precautionary measure

Following the announcement by the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union of a strike in Frankfurt today, Lufthansa was able to inform most of the affected passengers yesterday about the effects. Yesterday evening at 9 p.m., the special flight plan for this afternoon was published online at www.LH.com and 14,000 booked passengers were informed at the same time via text message. These passengers had previously registered their contact details so that Lufthansa could notify them of flight cancellations, re-bookings and alternative travel options.

Today the staff at the station in Frankfurt are focusing on providing the best possible assistance for passengers. As a precaution, 2,200 hotel rooms have been reserved in the

Rhine-Main area, and Lufthansa and Fraport have set up some 500 field beds for passengers in transit who are not allowed to enter Germany for visa reasons. From 2pm onwards, the staff at the Frankfurt station will be providing passengers affected by the strike with refreshments, snacks and the opportunity to use telecommunications. Mobile information stands will also be set up and capacities increased at the ticket counters.

Kay Kratky, member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board and responsible for operations and the Frankfurt hub, said: “We apologize for the inconveniences caused for our passengers by the strike of the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union. Because the strike was only announced after 5 pm yesterday, there was very little lead time. We have been working nonstop since yesterday evening to give our customers all the available information and, whenever possible, to rebook them on other airlines or other means of transport. We have also increased capacities at our call centers as quickly as possible. At Frankfurt Airport we are mobilizing all our capacities today in order to minimize the effects of the strike on our passengers. This is very difficult on a Friday afternoon at the end of the school holidays in three German states, as this is one of the busiest travel days of the year. But we will nonetheless do all we can to achieve this target for our passengers.”

Prior to the strike, Lufthansa had already presented an offer to the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union at the start of April regarding future early retirement from flight service and had therefore created a basis for further negotiations. This offer would provide all cockpit members with the option of retiring early from flight operations, including in the future.

In concrete terms, Lufthansa’s offer on transitional benefits provides for the following:

·         For employees who have been working at Lufthansa since before January 1^st  2014, Lufthansa will bear the costs of early retirement, including in the future. This means that employer-financed transitional benefits will be maintained for several decades.

·         For employees who start or have started work at Lufthansa after January 1^st  2014, it will still be possible to retire early from flight service. However, the costs of this will no longer be borne by Lufthansa, but rather by the employees. In the event of incapacity for flight service, a purely employer-financed insurance policy will still be included for all employees.

·         The individual age for retiring from flight service will be raised, depending on the length of service, from 55 for more senior up to 60 for younger employees. The longer employees have already been in the company, the less affected they will be by the increase in the earliest possible individual retirement age. Employees who have been with the company for a very long time are not affected at all by the changes.

·         Today, on average, cockpit crews leave Lufthansa German Airlines at the age of 59. In the future, the average age for employer-financed retirement from flight service at Lufthansa German Airlines is intended to go up gradually over several years to 61. The average age of 61 reflects an overall trend in society towards a longer working life.