[Anonymous]

[AMcWhirter]

The Lufthansa pilots’ union has just announced that the next strike will take place from tomorrow (Monday) and last until late on Tuesday.

Pilots will strike from midday on Monday (1100 GMT) until 2359 (2259 GMT) on Tuesday for short- and medium-haul flights.

The strike will affect long-haul flights between 0300 (0200 GMT) on Tuesday to 2359 (2259 GMT) also on Tuesday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/30/us-lufthansa-unions-strike-idUSKCN0JE0BE20141130?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

[MartynSinclair]

Thank goodness I am booked on BA. Noticed the flights are very full today to FRA..

[Charles-P]

There is a problem at Brussels as this strike also coincides with some public sector strikes here today which has seen the cancellation of trains and buses at the airport.

UPDATE – Press Release from airport

Regional and national strikes in December: impact on Brussels Airport

Trade unions have called for 24-hour strikes on 1 December, 8 December and 15 December.

On Monday 1 December there will be industrial actions in the provinces of Namur, Liège, East Flanders and West Flanders.
On Monday 8 December the Brussels’ Region and the provinces of Walloon and Flemish Brabant will be on strike.
These regional strikes will be followed by a general 24-hour strike in the whole country on Monday 15 December.

Impact on Brussels Airport
On Monday 1 December, the airport may be difficult to reach by train, especially for people travelling from the provinces in question. Passengers are advised to leave for the airport well ahead of their departure time.

At this moment, we are unable to estimate the impact of the actions on 8 and 15 December. However, we do expect airport operations to be affected.

Passengers who do not yet have their ticket, had best choose a different date.

Passengers who are scheduled to fly from Brussels Airport on 8 or 15 december are advised to contact their airline.

[AMcWhirter]

There will be further rail strikes in Belgium on December 8 and 15. Eurostar will be badly affected on those dates with trains not expected to run beyond Lille.

[AMcWhirter]

Tonight the Lufthansa pilots have announced a further strike for this coming Thursday.

This time only long-haul flights will be affected. But we are now running into a busy travel period so more passengers will be inconvenienced.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-2857497/Lufthansa-pilot-strike-extends-long-haul-flights.html

[Charles-P]

Text of an email I received overnight :
—————————————————–

Strike by pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit from 03:00 to 23.59 on December 4th

The pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit has announced a strike for Lufthansa intercontinental flights departing between 03:00 CET and 23.59 CET on December 4th. During the strike period disruptions of Lufthansa long-haul flights are expected. Lufthansa is currently working intensely on a special timetable for the strike period, which will be published as soon as possible. All Lufthansa short and medium – haul flights as well as flights operated by the Lufthansa Group airlines Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Germanwings, SWISS and Air Dolomiti (operated by OS, SN, 4U, LX, EN) will not be affected.

[AMcWhirter]

Today’s strike has gone ahead. BBC reporting that Lufthansa has cancelled half of its long-haul flights.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30312942

[TominScotland]

I guess every cloud etc… There must be hundreds of German geese waiting and hoping in anticipation of further strikes before Christmas, given the praise heaped by posters upon Lufthansa’s Christmas offering in First…….

[AnthonyDunn]

Well, heading back from TXL on Monday evening and the BA A321 was positively heaving with barely an empty seat…. Monday’s strike was the NINTH downing of tools by LH flight deck crews so far this year.

Can I ask when there is going to be a BT poll asking whether or not the strike action at LH is going to influence readers likely use of the airline? After all, BA’s previous industrial disputes received fulsome coverage on BT and AF’s recent strikes provoked a poll. Why should LH not be subject to the same treatment and rubbishing?

Incidentally, I found the new seats to be considerably more comfortable than their predecessors and the newly refurbished cabin to be a distinct improvement on what it replaced. Having sat in an ET over wing exit row on the way out in an A319, I could not help but notice just how tatty it was. My only criticism is that the empty middle seat really is a bit of a waste with just the tray sitting across the seat. Why could not the CE cabin seats be designed with the old style seat width expanding capability?

[AMcWhirter]

Well … the LH pilots’ strikes have caused the German government to back Air Berlin which, of course, is one-third owned by Etihad.

Previously the government stood 100 per cent behind Lufthansa but that would appear to be no longer the case.

LH’s rivals, and especially the Gulfies, must be laughing all the way to the bank. We are now running into the busy season for long-haul travel and any further strikes can only do more damage.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/29/us-air-berlin-germany-idUSKCN0JD0E720141129

[AnthonyDunn]

Ah yes, LH’s familiar complaint about alleged unfair competition. As a long-term admirer of many things German, I find such complaints – coming from a mercantilist country whose economic model is succinctly described as “we make, we sell, YOU BUY!” – to be utterly nauseating, obnoxious and hypocritical.

Bearing in mind that Germany runs a 7% current account surplus and, through its primus inter pares status at the European Central Bank, it has determined upon an €-zone monetary policy that is bleeding much of the rest of Europe white, I have no sympathy whatsoever for this bunch of overpaid aviation prima donnas.

What is also interesting is the rather unfamiliar silence on the issue of LH’s serious industrial relations issues from certain quarters who would be over BA like a dose of the pox were this to be happening this side of the Channel. I can think of several posters whose quiet on this issue is most perplexing. After the somewhat theological discussion on the subject of “consistency” in BA’s service offerings, I find the lack of comments and criticisms of Lufthansa’s senior management and staff to be …entirely INconsistent.

[BigDog.]

AnthonyDunn – 04/12/2014 14:47 GMT

Not wanting you to remain perplexed Anthony I’ll put my pennies worth in.

Am fully supportive of LH strategy and leadership from two perspectives -Firstly they are standing upto luddite pilots who need to realise that trying to maintain such absurdly high terms/conditions/pensions not just for themselves but future pilots will lead to catastrophe for the airline.

In the real world commercial pilots are no longer a scarce resource and market forces cannot sustain their bygone “golden era” as nowadays it is bordering on a commodity. Highly professional but nevertheless a commodity.

Secondly the LH leadership is not attempting to divide/victimise and conquer so imo will be far better placed to grow/build for the future once it has been addressed.

Walsh on the other hand pretty much paid-off the BA pilots to keep them on-side. Yes BA pilots are not as well paid as LH however when compared to EasyJet and Ryanair they are extremely well off in terms of Pay, Hours and Pension. Whether Walsh has the desire/wherewithal to address the anomaly is another issue regardless of it being a running sore with other areas, their cuts in essence subbing the pilots.

[JohnHarper]

I wonder if I’m one of the people who should be commenting?

Well, first of all I’m sure the geese will find a fate on a dinner table one way or the other. As my long haul travel is over for this year I won’t be having the LH version this year more’s the pity. Perhaps Tom it’s something you could put on your wish list? It is very good and beats a BA sandwich or indeed BA anything.

As for the strategy and the strike, well LH have always enjoyed a position in Germany that almost no other airline has had for the last thirty years where they have effectively been protected from market forces and had a home base of travellers who were fairly affluent and loyal. Fares have been high and even when the market started to crumble at the edges they simply offered slightly lower fares to people who were willing to connect in Germany in the main targeting northern Europe so they could still in the main charge premium fares.

Those days are over. They have successfully at least at the moment limited the impact of Emirates in Germany but that won’t last for ever. Air Berlin and Etihad is a different story and I think they will lose that battle ultimately though it will go through several more rounds yet.

The degree of cushioning LH has enjoyed has meant that some of the difficult questions about terms and conditions for staff have never been addressed because the money has been there and they have not needed to address them. The normal pattern of events has been a pay demand is submitted, it is turned down, there is a one or two day strike, the pay demand is met and all is back to normal immediately.

This time it is different, management have not rolled over and the trouble is on going. The demands of the pilots are unreasonable, no workforce has the right to demand conditions for the future be maintained in the way that they are and Big Dog makes a very valid point about pilots now being a commodity of which there is a reasonable glut at the moment.

I also agree that the approach of LH management to this dispute is more measured and once there is an outcome there will be unlikely to be animosity in the way that is still highly visible at BA because of the stupidity and ignorance of Walsh. It is generally accepted that things will only return to normal once he is history and that day cannot come too soon.

Lastly, AnthonyDunn – 04/12/2014 13:58 GMT I’m delighted to know that you flew on a BA A321 from TXL – LHR that was almost full. I regularly fly that route on BA and the aircraft are usually 90%+ full and of course as the only competition on the route is from Germanwings who are not on strike there is no reason why an LH strike would have had any affect on load factors at all between TXL – LHR.

[DavidGordon10]

To follow-up as well.

I have previously commented on this forum about the patchy experience that is Lufthansa (the thread was “Lufthansa four ways”). John Harper’s comments are spot-on, and until the unreasonable demands of LH pilots are dealt with, I will be leery of booking with LH, particularly for long-haul, notwithstanding the generally good nature of the experience.

As for flights to and from TXL other than to Munich or Frankfurt – I find the Germanwings experience so dismal that I always look for an alternative.

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