Lufthansa Airlines pilots are set to strike all day on Tuesday as part of a job action targeting management over salary, retirement benefits and budget cuts.
The pilots’ union, Vereinigung cockpit (VC) has specifically called the all-day strike for the airline’s long-haul and cargo flights flying out of German from 0600 GMT to 2159 GMT.
The union represetns some 5,000 Lufthansa and Germanwings pilots. Relations between management and the union broke down last week in talks over a new contract.
The union offered to increase the average retirement age to 60 and other ways to drop costs to a level similar to that of EasyJet.
Management is facing pressure as it tries to maintain its marketshare against budget rivals such as Ryanair, which advertises itself as “Europe’s cheapest airline” and which is targeting Germany in a market war for new passengers. Ryanair does not fly outside of Europe.