nbairlines
21st May 2008, 09:13
If already posted, my apologies.
If not, here goes:
Lufthansa Cancels 62 Flights on Walkout by Pilots (Update1)
By Jann Bettinga
May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's second-biggest airline, canceled 62 flights at three of its carriers after pilots went on strike demanding higher pay.
The Lufthansa Cityline and Eurowings brands dropped 60 services in German cities including Hamburg, Munich and Berlin, Stefanie Stotz, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa in Frankfurt, said today. The Germanwings low-cost affiliate scrapped two flights, while 22 were delayed, spokeswoman Angelika Schwaff said.
The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots' union staged the 2 1/2-hour strike starting at 5:30 a.m. to push demands for wage increases. The walkout affected 97 flights, the union said in a statement. The dispute poses a challenge to Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Mayrhuber's efforts to hold back spending as oil prices soar.
``Unfortunately, the reactions of the Eurowings, Germanwings and Lufthansa Cityline managements leave the cockpit personnel no other option than to enforce their demands with warning strikes,'' the union said. The walkouts came after Vereinigung Cockpit called off talks.
Lufthansa fell 36 cents, or 2.2 percent, to 16.28 euros in German trading and was down 1.6 percent as of 10:90 a.m. in Frankfurt. The stock has declined 10 percent this year.
Pilots at Lufthansa Cityline are seeking a ``double-digit'' increase in wages and have turned down an offer by the airline for a 3 percent increase spread over 30 months, Thorsten Gommert, one of the union's negotiators, said today.
Main Brand Contract
Germanwings pilots are asking for a wage agreement at the main Lufthansa brand to be applied to them as well, Gommert said. Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa and pilots at the namesake division agreed in January on a 2.5 percent pay raise retroactive to Oct. 1 and another 3 percent increase retroactive to Jan. 1.
Pilots at Eurowings are seeking a ``substantial increase'' in wages, Markus Germann, another negotiator at the union, said today. He declined to disclose a figure.
Mayrhuber has a strategy to protect earnings from rising fuel costs with hedging measures and ticket surcharges. The company has a 2008 goal of matching or exceeding last year's record operating profit of 1.38 billion ($2.16 billion) euros, provided rising fuel costs can be compensated for and the economic environment remains intact.
Jet fuel prices in northwest Europe have risen more than 50 percent this year, Bloomberg data show.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jann Bettinga in Frankfurt at [email protected].
Last Updated: May 21, 2008 04:32 EDT] )
(source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=avWcoPySbPcY)
If not, here goes:
Lufthansa Cancels 62 Flights on Walkout by Pilots (Update1)
By Jann Bettinga
May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's second-biggest airline, canceled 62 flights at three of its carriers after pilots went on strike demanding higher pay.
The Lufthansa Cityline and Eurowings brands dropped 60 services in German cities including Hamburg, Munich and Berlin, Stefanie Stotz, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa in Frankfurt, said today. The Germanwings low-cost affiliate scrapped two flights, while 22 were delayed, spokeswoman Angelika Schwaff said.
The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots' union staged the 2 1/2-hour strike starting at 5:30 a.m. to push demands for wage increases. The walkout affected 97 flights, the union said in a statement. The dispute poses a challenge to Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Mayrhuber's efforts to hold back spending as oil prices soar.
``Unfortunately, the reactions of the Eurowings, Germanwings and Lufthansa Cityline managements leave the cockpit personnel no other option than to enforce their demands with warning strikes,'' the union said. The walkouts came after Vereinigung Cockpit called off talks.
Lufthansa fell 36 cents, or 2.2 percent, to 16.28 euros in German trading and was down 1.6 percent as of 10:90 a.m. in Frankfurt. The stock has declined 10 percent this year.
Pilots at Lufthansa Cityline are seeking a ``double-digit'' increase in wages and have turned down an offer by the airline for a 3 percent increase spread over 30 months, Thorsten Gommert, one of the union's negotiators, said today.
Main Brand Contract
Germanwings pilots are asking for a wage agreement at the main Lufthansa brand to be applied to them as well, Gommert said. Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa and pilots at the namesake division agreed in January on a 2.5 percent pay raise retroactive to Oct. 1 and another 3 percent increase retroactive to Jan. 1.
Pilots at Eurowings are seeking a ``substantial increase'' in wages, Markus Germann, another negotiator at the union, said today. He declined to disclose a figure.
Mayrhuber has a strategy to protect earnings from rising fuel costs with hedging measures and ticket surcharges. The company has a 2008 goal of matching or exceeding last year's record operating profit of 1.38 billion ($2.16 billion) euros, provided rising fuel costs can be compensated for and the economic environment remains intact.
Jet fuel prices in northwest Europe have risen more than 50 percent this year, Bloomberg data show.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jann Bettinga in Frankfurt at [email protected].
Last Updated: May 21, 2008 04:32 EDT] )
(source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=avWcoPySbPcY)