by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 11, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike, Vereinigung Cockpit |
While knocking on wood, there is hope that labor peace will exist between Lufthansa and Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) through the Holidays.
In comments coming out of Frankfurt, it appears that both sides have agreed to a new series of mediation in an attempt to finally bridge the gap between the union and the airline. So I’m cautiously optimistic that the union will not pull any stunts that seek to hurt passengers during one of the busiest travel season of the year.
Obviously past mediations have yielded nothing but more strikes and passenger grief but there’s always hope of reaching a deal. Just like there’s hope of winning the lottery.
The labor dispute will enter it’s fifth year in 2017. Pilots have been working without a new deal since 2012 and I suspect that trend to continue for the foreseeable future.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 27, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike, Vereinigung Cockpit |
Lufthansa has announced that pilots will once again walk off the job for a substantial period next week.
On Tuesday, November 29, 2016 all short haul flights are subject to the strike from 12:01a until 11:59p.
Then on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, the union has called for strikes to ground ALL flights, both short and long haul flights scheduled to depart from Germany. The strike on Wednesday will last from 12:01a until 11:59p.
Lufthansa will be publishing a special timetable for Tuesday and Wednesday. Expect it to be available by 2:00pm on Monday (Frankfurt Time). You can check on your flight status by clicking this link.
Keep in mind that Lufthansa DID NOT have to cancel all the flights that were targeted by the insane union leadership during the previous strikes. In fact, LH was able to operate a significant amount of flights during each strike day.
If your flights are affected, you must call the airline or travel agency that issued your ticket. If your ticket is not issued by Lufthansa, do not call them directly, they will be unable to help and you’ll spend a lot of time on hold for no reason. If you redeemed miles for your LH flight, call the frequent flyer program that issued your ticket.
If your ticket is issued by LH, you can go online to LH.com to review your options, or call your local LH customer service center.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 24, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike, Vereinigung Cockpit |
Thanks to the inmates at the Union Asylum, the pilot strike has not been extended through Saturday November 26, 2016. The strike is set to run from 00:01a through 11:59p and is targeting long haul strikes out of Germany.
As what has unfortunately become normal, Lufthansa will yet again be forced to publish a special timetable for flights on November 26. The new timetable is usually available by 6:00a on the day before the strike and can be found by using this link which is updated with the most current info. But keep in mind that Saturday’s impacted flights won’t be loaded until Friday morning at 6:00a local Frankfurt time (CET).
It’s a bit unusual for the Union leadership to get out of bed to work on a Saturday so this latest act of stupidity comes as a bit of a surprise. As such, I expect that the strike will be predictably extended to include Sunday and perhaps Monday as well, but that is speculation on my part based on the Union’s past behavior.
What I’m really interested to see if the Union has the balls to call strikes during the first week of December when traditionally most of Germany begins their Holiday travel season. The union thinks it pulled a fast one by striking during a time frame that would impact most American travelers, so lets see if they man up and piss off their constituency within Germany. Keep in mind, North America is Lufthansa’s second largest market so the impact is obviously felt by Lufthansa, but perhaps less by those in Germany or Europe.
Does my opinion of the union come through clearly enough? 🙂
Have comments for the union? I’m sure they’d welcome them via twitter on @VCockpit
