業界新聞 機師罷工 漢莎取消200航班

機師罷工 漢莎取消200航班

（法新社法蘭克福5日電） 德國最大的漢莎航空公 司（Lufthansa）表示，今天將取消200個航班，因為機 師今天稍後將進行罷工。受影響乘客有2萬5000人。 德國機師工會（Vereinigung Cockpit）要求在下 午5時至晚上11時（台北時間晚上11時至明天早上5時） 間進行6小時罷工，抗議漢莎提早退休方案的修改計劃 。 此次罷工的重點在德國最大的法蘭克福機場，大多 數國內及區域性航班將停飛。 漢莎說，有些航班在下午1時30分就會取消，多數 航班自下午4時起停飛。 漢莎承諾，設法限制罷工對消費者的衝擊。 漢莎現行規定是，機師可在55歲提前退休，並領取 一定成數的薪資，直到法定退休年齡。他們目前抗議的 是，公司方面計畫將55歲門檻提高，並從機師薪資中扣 繳提前退休後的給付。（譯者：中央社徐崇哲）

Lufthansa Offers Cots as Pilots Strike Looms

Management, Staff at Odds Over Retirement Benefits

Pilots at Deutsche Lufthansa are going on strike over changes to their retirement benefits. Reuters

FRANKFURT— Deutsche Lufthansa AG LHA.XE +0.44% said Friday it has set up hundreds of cots for stranded passengers in Frankfurt airport as pilots prepared another strike in a long-running conflict over retirement benefits.

Lufthansa plans to ground more than 200 flights at its main passenger airline, upending the plans of 25,000 passengers, after pilots said they would walk out on short- and medium-haul trips scheduled from Frankfurt between 1700 and 2300 local time.

The German flag-carrier will cancel some flights to other German and European destinations starting already at 1330 local time, and most flights as of 1600. Long-haul flights and flights from Munich aren't affected, the airline said.

The strike by pilots union Vereiningung Cockpit is the fifth employee protest to hit Lufthansa this year and comes just a week after a six-hour walkout by pilots at Lufthansa's short-haul unit Germanwings. Vereiningung Cockpit represents about 90% of all Lufthansa group pilots.

The German company, like other national airlines in Europe, is also under pressurefrom lower-cost budget airlines, such as Ryanair Holdings RYA.DB +0.86% PLC andeasyJet EZJ.LN -1.23% PLC, and emerging-market carriers which are grabbing a bigger slice of short-haul and long-distance markets that Lufthansa serves.

"The timing in particular is unacceptable," said Lufthansa board member Kay Kratky of the Friday evening strikes, which will hit commuters, holiday and business travelers. The airline booked 2,200 hotel rooms for passengers as a precaution. For transit passengers who can't enter the country for visa reasons, Lufthansa said it set up 500 cots in the airport, which is Europe's third-busiest.

A Lufthansa spokeswoman said the airline couldn't give a solid estimate for the cost of this summer's strikes, but said it could run into millions of euros. Lufthansa warned in June it wouldn't reach its 2014 operating profit target largely because of damage from strikes by pilots, security and ground personnel. A three-day pilot strike in April grounded 3,800 flights and shaved at least €60 million ($77 million) off the airline's operating profit.

The airline's fight to raise the age at which pilots can tap into early retirement benefits is in shareholders' interests, analysts said.

"The [financial] burden of the pilot strikes could badly hurt results, but a weak compromise could potentially threaten the company's future," said aviation expert Heinrich Grossbongardt.

Bankhaus Metzler analyst Juergen Pieper estimated the airline could save between €70 million and €100 million a year if it prevails. Shares in Lufthansa largely outperformed the market Friday, with traders saying the company's strong stance in the conflict was positive.

Pilots can now retire at 55 and receive 60% of their wages. The European Union recently changed pilot-licensing rules, allowing them to fly until the age of 65. Lufthansa has said that the change made its early-retirement benefits obsolete.

Lufthansa has proposed either raising the individual early retirement age to 60, increasing the collective average retirement age to 61 from 58, or absolving the airline from paying for early retirement for future employees. The airline currently doesn't offer transitional retirement payments to employees hired after Jan. 1.

The union remains unsatisfied with Lufthansa's proposals and wants uniform transitional payment rules for all pilots.

Lufthansa said changes to Friday's flight timetable have been published on its website and will be updated continuously throughout the day.

source:
1.) http://online.wsj.com/articles/lufthansa-offers-cots-as-pilots-strike-looms-1409924988
2.) https://hk.news.yahoo.com/%E6%A9%9F%E5%B8%AB%E7%BD%B7%E5%B7%A5-%E6%BC%A2%E8%8E%8E%E5%8F%96%E6%B6%88200%E8%88%AA%E7%8F%AD-102002589--finance.html