Germany’s cabin crew union, UFO, announced on December 24 that strike action against Lufthansa could resume as soon as December 27, following the breakdown of weekend arbitration talks. The negotiations, held in Frankfurt on December 22, lasted only four hours and concluded with a brief acknowledgment that “no solution” had been reached, with no joint statement issued.
The dispute, ongoing since early 2019, centers on three key demands from UFO, which represents approximately two-thirds of Lufthansa’s 22,000 flight attendants. The union is seeking a 1.8 percent wage increase retroactive to January, guarantees that pensions will keep pace with inflation, and formal recognition of its current leadership by the company. Lufthansa has refused to negotiate with the union board elected in April, arguing that the election was irregular and that a previous court ruling invalidated the result. Instead, the airline recognizes a rival cabin crew group that split from UFO in 2018, a move the union claims is intended to weaken its membership.
Nicoley Baublies, UFO’s lead negotiator, stated on December 24: “Even though we have agreed not to disclose the contents of these talks, unfortunately we must state that there was no solution … so we failed.” He added that industrial action “must be expected again any time soon” once the Christmas truce expires.
The threat follows UFO’s first strikes since 2015. On November 6 and 7, union members stopped work at Lufthansa’s main hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, forcing the cancellation of 1,300 flights and stranding approximately 180,000 passengers. The airline reported a direct revenue loss of €15 million, with an additional €5 million hit from dips in forward bookings. Lufthansa obtained a temporary court injunction limiting the scope of any repeat strikes, but judges left the door open for renewed action provided the union gives 24-hour notice. UFO has since balloted members twice, with 97 percent approving further stoppages.
Cabin crew are also protesting longer duty days introduced this autumn under a new rostering system. Lufthansa maintains the change complies with European flight-time regulations and saves €50 million annually, citing rising fuel costs and competition from Gulf carriers squeezing yields.
The labor dispute is complicated by an internal membership conflict. A breakaway faction called Cabin Crew United claims 3,000 members and has signed a separate cooperation deal with Lufthansa that includes a pay freeze in exchange for job security until 2022. UFO accuses management of funding the rival group, a claim the company denies. A Frankfurt labor court is scheduled to rule on January 14 on whether UFO’s April election was valid. If the verdict goes against the union, Lufthansa says it will cease all negotiations and deal only with the splinter group. Baublies warned such an outcome “would leave us no choice but to escalate immediately.”
Both sides have agreed to further talks on January 8 at the offices of the German employers’ federation in Cologne, with mediators from the transport ministry attending. However, neither party predicts progress, as UFO wants the agenda limited to pay and pensions, while Lufthansa insists the union’s legal status must be settled first.
Analysts note that while the carrier can absorb short strikes, a prolonged campaign would impact 2020 earnings. Berenberg bank estimates a week-long walk-out would cost €60 million in operating profit, equal to 3 percent of last year’s full-year result. Lufthansa has activated a contingency plan that could wet-lease 30 aircraft from Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and SunExpress, but regulators require 72 hours to approve substitute crews, limiting its usefulness against sudden strikes. Travel agents report a 12 percent drop in January bookings to European destinations compared to the same period last year, attributing the decline to strike uncertainty.
