Lufthansa canceled 48 percent of their scheduled flights for Monday, Dec. 1, and Tuesday, Dec. 2.
The German flagship airline experiences the ninth employee strike, as their pilots plan for another walkout. A total of 1,350 short-, medium-, and long-haul flights are canceled, affecting approximately 150,000 passengers. Budget subsidiary, Germanwings, isn't affected by the strike.
In a statement posted on their website Sunday, Lufthansa said, "During the strike period, disruptions of Lufthansa flights are expected. Lufthansa is currently working intensely on a special timetable for the strike period, which will be published as soon as possible."
Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), Lufthasa pilots' union, demands for the airline to continuously pay the transition payment for those who are gearing for an early retirement. The contract has been in effect since a decade ago, and the airline plans to abolish the established retirement plans.
Citing the tough competition from other Gulf and European carriers, the airline refuses to continue the payment. Pilots are allowed to retire early at age 55 and to continue to receive 60% of their salary until the usual retirement age of 65.
The airline has tried to reach an agreement by giving a 5% increase in salary, but it refuses to let current pilots and new ones to retire early. Lufthansa is currently expanding their budget operations as they try to compete with low-budget airlines in Europe.
VC Spokesperson, Jörg Handwerg, said, "It became clear that management is not interested in solutions, but in introducing an autocratic leadership model like that of airlines in the Gulf states."
A Lufthansa spokesperson said that they're still open for negotiations and aim to find a "sustainable solution" for the issue.
The past eight walkouts have already cost Lufthansa 170 million euros ($211.62 million) in profits. Analysts estimates that the carrier loses a single-digit euro earning due to this week's flight cancellation.
Canceled flights can be viewed at Laufthansa's website.
