GERMANY: Lufthansa Strike, Hundreds Of Flights Were Cancelled

Lufthansa has cancelled 1,300 flights after it lost a last-minute legal bid to halt a strike by cabin crew.

The two-day action by members of the UFO union centres on disagreements over pay and conditions.

About 180,000 passengers are set to face travel disruption.

The UFO union said it would hit all Lufthansa flights from German airports.

Other airlines in the group – including Eurowings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines - are not affected.

Lufthansa cancelled 700 flights on Thursday and 600 on Friday, amounting to about one-fifth of its planned flights over the 48-hour period.

A Frankfurt labour court rejected an application from the airline to prevent the strike on Wednesday, which is part of a long-running dispute.

The carrier achieved an Adjusted EBIT of €1.3 billion for the third quarter of 2019, only slightly below the €1.4 billion of the prior-year period.

Against the backdrop of higher fuel costs, which were €171 million above their 2018 level in the third quarter, the group delivered a sound business performance for the period.

Our airlines were able to translate their premium quality and market strength into solid third-quarter earnings, confirms Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa chief executive.

At Eurowings the turnaround measures are showing first results; and at Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo we will be taking tangible corrective action to improve earnings.

Lufthansa passengers can breathe a sigh of relief after the airline and cabin crew trade union UFO announced there are no new strikes on the horizon.

The two sides agreed to enter arbitration to resolve wage disputes.

German airline Lufthansa agreed to enter arbitration with cabin crew labor union UFO to resolve ongoing wage disputes, the two sides announced on Tuesday.

In a joint statement, the UFO union and Lufthansa said that talks over the past few days had been constructive and showed that we can come to a solution together.

The two sides have been locked into a dispute over pay for some 21,000 staff members as well as the union's legal status.

According to UFO, Lufthansa agreed to withdraw several lawsuits against the union and to make improvements for entry-level workers.

In exchange, the union agreed to refrain from further strikes while negotiations are ongoing.

The move comes as a potential new wave of strikes threatened to impact hundreds of Lufthansa flights as well as its four German subsidiaries — Germanwings, Eurowings Germany, Lufthansa City Line and SunExpress Germany.

A two-day strike by Lufthansa cabin crew led to 1,500 flights being canceled last week, bringing the airline's operations to a standstill.

Lufthansa and UFO said they hope a neutral arbitrator will help find a solution that is acceptable to both sides.

Lufthansa Cargo And United Airlines (UAL) Sign Joint Venture Agreement

United Airlines (UAL) and Lufthansa Cargo have signed a joint venture agreement for extensive cargo cooperation on routes between the U.S. and Europe. The cargo joint venture partners plan to provide a wide range of benefits to customers by cooperating on the availability of their capacity and aligning booking and handling processes.

The carriers’ joint venture route network will provide greater flexibility and time savings to customers with thousands of new route combinations and more than 600 direct connections per week between the U.S. and Europe. The combined network offering creates additional benefits through access from either partner’s booking channels along with coordinated handling processes and transfers at numerous stations.

“The Lufthansa-United cargo joint venture will generate numerous benefits for our customers because our continental and transatlantic networks, our hubs and our fleet complement each other effectively,” said Peter Gerber, Lufthansa Cargo CEO.

“We are excited about the benefits that will be generated by our teams’ cooperation and our combined capacities,” said Jan Krems, President of United Cargo. “Cargo customers will appreciate the opportunities for quicker and easier shipping between key locations in the U.S. and Europe.”

The contract signing initiates the implementation phase of the joint venture project, during which the carriers will align their cargo IT systems and business processes with the goal to implement Business Day 1 later this year.

Martinair Phases Out MD-11(F) Fleet

Dutch cargo carrier Martinair will put to an end its MD-11(F) operations next July, with the retirement of its last two aircraft of the type.

The Amsterdam-based airline took delivery of its first MD-11 (PH-MCP • MSN 48616 • 577) on December 2, 1994, and it will be the last to leave the fleet next July 8. In total, Martinair operated seven MD-11s, four of which served to transport passengers to charter destinations. The airline ceased its passenger operations in October 2011.

Martinair is part of the Air France-KLM Group, which has been undergoing through a major restructuring of its cargo business due to cost-saving reasons. The retirement of the MD-11(F) will cause the loss of 300+ staff positions.

After the departure of the trijets, Martinair will have an all-Boeing 747-400 freighter fleet, while the world’s operators of the type will be down to approximately a dozen operators, with U.S.-based FedEx and UPS leading the list with 58 and 28 aircraft, respectively. Meanwhile, the largest European MD-11(F) operator is Lufthansa Cargo with a dozen aircraft in service.