Lufthansa continues future strategy despite 11th pilot strike
Europe's biggest airline, Germany's Lufthansa, is set to be hit by its 11th pilots' strike of 2014 after a leading union called for another stoppage to long-haul and cargo flights.
The Vereinigung Cockpit union scheduled the new strike to start at 3am (1300 AEDT) on Thursday and end at one minute to midnight.
The announcement was made just as a 36-hour strike that began on Monday was coming to an end.
That stoppage caused more than 1,000 flights to be scrapped, disrupting services to and from Germany's busy Frankfurt hub, and causing disruption at Lufthansa destinations including London, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Seoul and Tel Aviv.
Short-haul and medium-haul services and those operated by Lufthansa's low-cost subsidiary Germanwings will not be affected by Thursday's strike, the union said.
The strikes come as the airline announces its plans to launch budget long-haul services at the end of next year in collaboration with SunExpress, a joint venture with Turkish Airlines.
Lufthansa's supervisory board gave the go-ahead to expand the company's low-cost operations on Wednesday, a meeting that came amid a battle with a union representing pilots at the airline.
Lufthansa is citing increasingly tough competition as it sets out its future plans.
The latest talks between the airline and the pilots' representatives broke down on Friday, prolonging a dispute that centres on transitional pension arrangements for about 5,400 pilots.
At present, the pilots are allowed to retire at 55 and receive up to 60 per cent of their pay until they reach the statutory retirement age of 65.
Lufthansa says the combined strike action this year has cost it about 170 million euros ($A254.99 million).
Pilots say they are also concerned about the airline's future strategy, including plans for a new long-haul budget subsidiary, as Lufthansa grapples with competition chiefly from low-cost carriers.
The airline hopes that its first budget long-haul plans will go ahead despite the recent disputes, with destinations including locations in Florida, southern Africa and the Indian Ocean, initially using three Airbus A330s.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
budget future long-haul carrier lufthansa pilots strikeLatest News
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