German airline Lufthansa’s pilots vote in favor of 4-day strike starting Monday

Lufthansa pilots to strike for 4 days

FRANKFURT — Pilots at German airline Lufthansa AG voted Wednesday to go on a four-day strike next week to protest wage deals and potential plans to move jobs to lower-paying subsidiaries, the union said.

The pilots’ Vereinigung Cockpit union said the strike is to start Monday at midnight and that more than 90 percent of the members from Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and subsidiary Germanwings voted in favor of labor action.

Lufthansa was not immediately available to comment.

A strike at Germany’s biggest airline could affect 4,500 Lufthansa pilots alone, plus those at Lufthansa Cargo and subsidiary Germanwings. It could potentially cause massive disruptions in delays and cancellations across the country, Europe and internationally.

Lufthansa has seen passenger numbers fall as a result of the economic downturn and especially a decline in premium first-class and business-class ticket sales.

Shares of Lufthansa were nearly unchanged at euro10.95 ($15) in Frankfurt afternoon trading.

On the Net:

www.lufthansa.com