Mar 28, 2014, 7:06 am
Last edit by: warakorn
VC has announced a stike phase from 0am on 02APR14 till 11.59pm on 04APR14:
Expect massive advance cancellations. VC pilots only operate LH Mainline A32S, B737 and longhaul widebodies, so expect cancellations on such flights.
The current list of cancellations can be found here:
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/flight_services/cancelled_flights?nodeid=118127922&l=de&cid=18002
Or just open your booking and take a look.
Once the cancellation is announced LH allows rebooking online or via the phone. The exact procedure is described here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/lufthansa-austrian-swiss-brussels-lot-other-partners-miles-more/1541419-flyertalk-vielfliegertreff-lufthansa-irreg-interview.html
According to EU passenger rights regulation EC261/2004 article 8, the operating carrier (Lufthansa) is responsible to reroute passengers under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity.
Article 8 also applies in situations like strikes.
Tickets issued for 2-4APR just received a waiver to rebook for free:
Die VC wird ihre Mitglieder vom 02. April 00.00 Uhr bis 04. April 23.59 Uhr zum bundesweiten Arbeitskampf zur Durchsetzung eines neuen Tarifvertrages Übergangsversorgung aufrufen.
The current list of cancellations can be found here:
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/flight_services/cancelled_flights?nodeid=118127922&l=de&cid=18002
Or just open your booking and take a look.
Once the cancellation is announced LH allows rebooking online or via the phone. The exact procedure is described here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/lufthansa-austrian-swiss-brussels-lot-other-partners-miles-more/1541419-flyertalk-vielfliegertreff-lufthansa-irreg-interview.html
According to EU passenger rights regulation EC261/2004 article 8, the operating carrier (Lufthansa) is responsible to reroute passengers under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity.
Article 8 also applies in situations like strikes.
Tickets issued for 2-4APR just received a waiver to rebook for free:
Announced strike of the pilots union from April, 2nd – 4th, 2014
The pilots union “Vereinigung Cockpit” (VC) has called upon its members at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings to cease work for three days from Wednesday, April 2nd 2014, 00:00, to Friday, 4th April 2014, at 23:59 at all German airports.
In order to keep impact of the strike as low as possible, Lufthansa will inform its customers about details of flight cancellations and alternative travel options via www.LH.com as soon as possible. Customers, who advised their contact information, will be informed by e-mail and SMS notifications about changes of their flights.
Lufthansa will publish a list with cancelled flights as well as information for passenger services on Monday afternoon, 31st March 2014.
Passengers holding a Lufthansa/SWISS/Austrian Airlines or Brussels ticket for flights on April 2nd – April 4th, 2014 from/to/via Germany, are permitted to rebook their flight once free of charge online via My Bookings with immediate effect, provided that:
- the ticket was issued on/before March 28th, 2014
- the new travel date is on/before September 30th, 2014
- the original ticket class remains
- all other fare conditions are adhered to
Passengers may also contact our service center on +49(0)69-86-799-799* or via one of our local phone numbers.
* Calls from German landlines at local rates, call charges from German mobile networks may vary dependent upon the provider
The pilots union “Vereinigung Cockpit” (VC) has called upon its members at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings to cease work for three days from Wednesday, April 2nd 2014, 00:00, to Friday, 4th April 2014, at 23:59 at all German airports.
In order to keep impact of the strike as low as possible, Lufthansa will inform its customers about details of flight cancellations and alternative travel options via www.LH.com as soon as possible. Customers, who advised their contact information, will be informed by e-mail and SMS notifications about changes of their flights.
Lufthansa will publish a list with cancelled flights as well as information for passenger services on Monday afternoon, 31st March 2014.
Passengers holding a Lufthansa/SWISS/Austrian Airlines or Brussels ticket for flights on April 2nd – April 4th, 2014 from/to/via Germany, are permitted to rebook their flight once free of charge online via My Bookings with immediate effect, provided that:
- the ticket was issued on/before March 28th, 2014
- the new travel date is on/before September 30th, 2014
- the original ticket class remains
- all other fare conditions are adhered to
Passengers may also contact our service center on +49(0)69-86-799-799* or via one of our local phone numbers.
* Calls from German landlines at local rates, call charges from German mobile networks may vary dependent upon the provider
VC Pilots Strike 02-04 APR 2014 [discussion & info wiki]
Mar 24, 2014, 6:39 am
#32
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 504
I think it's absolutely outrageous once again what they are demanding. I have a couple of friends who fly for LH and we had a lively argument over the weekend. I think pilots lost any perspective of reality. I don't think their role is more crucial to society than the ones of busdrivers and train conductors. But i don't see that they are getting up to 300k + pensions and multiple other benefits. They days of glorious flying are over for passengers as well as pilots. I like the fact that they are paid a fair salary and don't have to do a second Job as some of their US colleagues. But i think that the Level of fair pay has long been reached.
Will be flying in to FRA on Friday, so hope not to be affected.
Will be flying in to FRA on Friday, so hope not to be affected.
Mar 24, 2014, 6:46 am
#33
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: GRR, USA
Posts: 3,298
I think it's absolutely outrageous once again what they are demanding. I have a couple of friends who fly for LH and we had a lively argument over the weekend. I think pilots lost any perspective of reality. I don't think their role is more crucial to society than the ones of busdrivers and train conductors. But i don't see that they are getting up to 300k + pensions and multiple other benefits. They days of glorious flying are over for passengers as well as pilots. I like the fact that they are paid a fair salary and don't have to do a second Job as some of their US colleagues. But i think that the Level of fair pay has long been reached.
Will be flying in to FRA on Friday, so hope not to be affected.
Will be flying in to FRA on Friday, so hope not to be affected.
I agree that they are asking for a bit much, but they deserve more credit than they guy who drives you 2 miles across town.
Mar 24, 2014, 7:07 am
#34
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: MUC/RJK
Programs: SQ G, LH FTL, UA S, Marriott Plat, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,442
So you think they are the equivalent of bus drivers and conductors? perhaps you'll reconsider if God forbid you should incur an emergency mid-flight over the atlantic and only 2 people on board can save you where as a bus driver just needs to pullover at his convenience.
Mar 24, 2014, 7:18 am
#35
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: GRR, USA
Posts: 3,298
Granted, but the odds are greater that you survive the train since it at least it's ground-bound. Odds are much worse at 35k feet. I agree though that the pilots sometimes think they are irreplaceable.
Mar 24, 2014, 8:35 am
#36
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,196
Pretty much all the pilots at LH were picked from high school and have done nothing else than fly planes for LH group airlines since then. So there is definitely a clear disconnect with the job market. That said its also what LH wants. The ab-initio training ensures that pilots have the exact same training and will do exactly the same in unison when a situation comes up with discussion.
Mar 24, 2014, 9:08 am
#37
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: GRR, USA
Posts: 3,298
Pretty much all the pilots at LH were picked from high school and have done nothing else than fly planes for LH group airlines since then. So there is definitely a clear disconnect with the job market. That said its also what LH wants. The ab-initio training ensures that pilots have the exact same training and will do exactly the same in unison when a situation comes up with discussion.
Mar 24, 2014, 11:47 am
#38
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: Everything is refundable
Posts: 3,727
Pretty much all the pilots at LH were picked from high school and have done nothing else than fly planes for LH group airlines since then. So there is definitely a clear disconnect with the job market. That said its also what LH wants. The ab-initio training ensures that pilots have the exact same training and will do exactly the same in unison when a situation comes up with discussion.
This does not affect their very lucrative pension schemes, though, and given the currrent market conditions, LH faces the same problem as many life insurance companies; they promised too much in earlier negotiations.
Hence, this one will become ugly.
Mar 24, 2014, 3:49 pm
#39
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 504
So you think they are the equivalent of bus drivers and conductors? perhaps you'll reconsider if God forbid you should incur an emergency mid-flight over the atlantic and only 2 people on board can save you where as a bus driver just needs to pullover at his convenience.
I agree that they are asking for a bit much, but they deserve more credit than they guy who drives you 2 miles across town.
I agree that they are asking for a bit much, but they deserve more credit than they guy who drives you 2 miles across town.
However, I don't think the current levels and even more so the ones envisioned by VC represent the fair level of payment. If it would not be for VC and their extremely powerful position in negotiations compared to other unions their demands would certainly be a lot more moderate.
Carrying out another strike at the back of the passengers who have to travel, while being in an extremely comfortable position income- and benefit-wise, is not something I have any sympathy for.
Mar 25, 2014, 1:08 am
#41
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Between AMS and BRU
Posts: 8,852
As in (almost) every profession they have the right to strike.... and so far this only is an announcement to put additional pressure on LH in the negotiations that have been ongoing for nearly two years. Seems time to make a statement.
What you would expect though from a pilot union is that they also face reality, and that is that pilot salaries have been going down and there are a lot of unemployed pilots. But reality is also that those working and members of the union put their own interests above those of others (not really surprising) and would still like an ever better pension scheme than they have now.
And it's not like our .....ing and moaning, or having our sympathy, is going to change that. So let's hope they will come to an agreement before this impacts those who ultimately pay their salary.
What you would expect though from a pilot union is that they also face reality, and that is that pilot salaries have been going down and there are a lot of unemployed pilots. But reality is also that those working and members of the union put their own interests above those of others (not really surprising) and would still like an ever better pension scheme than they have now.
And it's not like our .....ing and moaning, or having our sympathy, is going to change that. So let's hope they will come to an agreement before this impacts those who ultimately pay their salary.
Mar 25, 2014, 1:39 am
#42
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Up in the air
Programs: LH HON, BA LT Gold, AFKL ULTI, WOH Lifetime Globalist, Bonvoy Ambassador
Posts: 385
I think it's absolutely outrageous once again what they are demanding. I have a couple of friends who fly for LH and we had a lively argument over the weekend. I think pilots lost any perspective of reality. I don't think their role is more crucial to society than the ones of busdrivers and train conductors. But i don't see that they are getting up to 300k + pensions and multiple other benefits. They days of glorious flying are over for passengers as well as pilots. I like the fact that they are paid a fair salary and don't have to do a second Job as some of their US colleagues. But i think that the Level of fair pay has long been reached.
Will be flying in to FRA on Friday, so hope not to be affected.
Will be flying in to FRA on Friday, so hope not to be affected.
Mar 25, 2014, 4:43 am
#43
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,196
The problem is two fold:
- LH & VC are negotiating the regular adjustment of wages since two years and the delay is adding up, leading to the ~10% wage hike for the last and future two years. If you look at other agreements (like the chemical sector where I work) this is not a atrocious figure, we got 3.5-4% every 18months.
- recently the pilots fought and won a case against the practice of LH retiring pilots at 55 (or 58?) years, now its 60 years. LH used to have a generous pension plan in place to cover the time between retirement from work and legal retirement age (65). Now LH is saying that they only have 5 instead of 10 years to cover and that the terms were too generous and they would like to adjust them. The pilots are obviously not keen to give that up since it offers them the option to retire at 55
- LH & VC are negotiating the regular adjustment of wages since two years and the delay is adding up, leading to the ~10% wage hike for the last and future two years. If you look at other agreements (like the chemical sector where I work) this is not a atrocious figure, we got 3.5-4% every 18months.
- recently the pilots fought and won a case against the practice of LH retiring pilots at 55 (or 58?) years, now its 60 years. LH used to have a generous pension plan in place to cover the time between retirement from work and legal retirement age (65). Now LH is saying that they only have 5 instead of 10 years to cover and that the terms were too generous and they would like to adjust them. The pilots are obviously not keen to give that up since it offers them the option to retire at 55
Mar 25, 2014, 6:12 am
#44
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: between DM464 and DM463 on the NAPSA26 RNAV TRANS in EDDM
Programs: this and that
Posts: 1,731
- recently the pilots fought and won a case against the practice of LH retiring pilots at 55 (or 58?) years, now its 60 years. LH used to have a generous pension plan in place to cover the time between retirement from work and legal retirement age (65). Now LH is saying that they only have 5 instead of 10 years to cover and that the terms were too generous and they would like to adjust them. The pilots are obviously not keen to give that up since it offers them the option to retire at 55
Mar 25, 2014, 6:19 am
#45
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,196
Who knows. From an employers perspective I suppose its in LHs interest to retire the 55+ pilots who are at the very upper end of the payscale and very very aware of their rights and are probably not super flexible in scheduling. On the other end they are continuously hiring and training young pilots who need to fly something... and LH is not planning on having more than 100 widebodies for the next 10-15 years.