For several months, strikes have been multiplying at Lufthansa. Pilots and ground staff are demanding their rights by force, like their French neighbors. Why no one talks about it ? What are they asking for and why do they go on strike, something that is not in the German culture?
Some keys to understand the movements and their impact on customers.

Ground staff decimated by the rampant outsourcing of ground operations

Lufthansa’s business model is changing, just like that of its European competitors. Also, this transformation of the business model has had several consequences:

• The gradual abandonment of the Dusseldorf hub in favor of the other two, Munich and Frankfurt,
• The focus of the Lufthansa brand’s operations on long-haul and on supplying its two hubs,
• The creation of two brands, Germanwings and Eurowings, operating short and medium-haul point-to-point flights

While this transformation directly affects Lufthansa’s flight personnel, some of whom have had to transfer to Germanwings or Eurowings, it also affects ground staff, who must also reduce their operating costs. Also, on European airports, the need to maintain the airline’s own staffis relative.
The Lufthansa group has therefore decided to outsource handling operations at most European airports, including Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Therefore, this decision caused3 days of hard strike at the end of 2013, all flights at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle being cancelled.

Pilots who quibble about their early retirement

On March 18, Lufthansa pilots held their 12th strike day in a year.
This strike is about maintaining the possibility for cabin crew to go into early retirement at 55 with 60% of their salary, a possibility that management wants to push back to 60.
Although very corporatist, this movement shows that the staff does not want to be left behind in the heavy trend of low-cost in Europe, especially since the Gulf airlines often offer very attractive remuneration conditions to qualified pilots on twin-aisle aircraft, used especially on long-haul flights.

Clients who suffer in silence

Surprisingly, Lufthansa’s customers are rather quiet about it. On the FlyerTalk forum, quite few topics, and overall not very virulent.
Without doubt, the pilots’ movement, spread over several months, is less disruptive for customers, more intelligent and yet just as costly for the airline as the one suffered by Air France customers last September.

And you, have you been affected by these repeated strikes? How did you find palliatives?