Customers avoid airline

Lufthansa boss: strike wave costs 250 million

The travel chaos could extend into the Easter holidays.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Peter Kneffel)

The AUA parent company Lufthansa estimates its financial burden from strikes in the course of the year to date at 250 million euros. In an internal memo to employees on Wednesday, Chief Financial Officer Remco Steenbergen explained the burden also in terms of the long-term consequences of the strikes. The consequences are serious.

This affects the duty rosters of the crews, the deployment schedule of the aircraft and the uncertainty of the customers. For example, the otherwise very profitable connection between Frankfurt and San Francisco currently has to be canceled for an entire week.

In addition, customers are more reluctant to book - or are avoiding the Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. At the presentation of the balance sheet at the beginning of March, Steenbergen had still estimated the impact of strikes at 100 million euros.

Chaos on Easter holidays?
The labor disputes at Lufthansa have been dragging on for some time. Shortly before the start of the Easter travel wave, efforts to reach a settlement, for example among cabin crew, are in full swing. "There is a problem with the money and the duration," said Joachim Vazquez Bürger, chairman of the flight attendants' union Ufo, after the latest round of negotiations on Wednesday. Negotiations should continue. "But whether there will be an agreement before Easter is currently not foreseeable."

Mediators are to help in the Lufthansa ground staff wage dispute. In the event of unsuccessful mediation, Verdi has launched a ballot for indefinite strikes.

Security staff are also on strike
There is also a wave of warning strikes by airport security staff. This Wednesday, representatives of the Verdi union and employers began the sixth round of collective bargaining. "We are very willing to reach an agreement," said Verdi negotiator Wolfgang Pieper before the talks began.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Lando Hass)

Whether there will be strikes at Easter if the talks fail cannot be said at present. It would also depend on the course of the talks. "We hope that an agreement will be reached," said a spokesperson for the aviation security companies (BDLS).