Lufthansa Executive Board member Michael Niggemann on the strike announcement by the Vereinigung Cockpit union

Michael Niggemann, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG responsible for Human Resources and Legal Affairs, said of the strike call: "I regret the renewed strike call by the Vereinigung Cockpit union. This escalation is completely incomprehensible. Especially not at a time when we are experiencing a new level of geopolitical uncertainty with the war in Iran and passengers worldwide are affected. The union's actions are also incomprehensible in terms of content: We already offer a high level of company pension provision at Lufthansa Classic, which guarantees very good retirement security both in an internal comparison within the Lufthansa Group and with other airlines, industries, and companies. 

This company pension scheme has even been further improved over the past two years with a significant increase in pensionable remuneration for our pilots. Given the low margin at Lufthansa Classic, which in itself would not allow for investment in new aircraft, there is no scope for further increases. Strikes will not change this.

We have offered pay increases to the pilots of our subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline. Here, too, escalation is unnecessary because we have shown a clear willingness to find a solution.

The path of escalation chosen by the Vereinigung Cockpit union is not the right one. Instead of further worsening the development opportunities for Lufthansa Classic through strikes, we should rather enter into discussions about modernization and the future size of the fleet, which will have a direct and immediate impact on the career prospects of pilots."

A special flight schedule is currently being drawn up for the strike period and is to be published today by 2:00 p.m. at the latest. The airline has launched an internal appeal to be able to offer a minimum number of flights despite the strike. In Germany, the Lufthansa Group airlines Discover Airlines and Lufthansa CityAirline will fly their scheduled program and take on additional flights where possible.