German flag carrier Lufthansa has managed to avert the threat of further strike action by its mainline flight attendants after striking a new three-year wage deal with the main crew union, which will see flight attendants receive a 16.5% pay rise and a €3,000 tax-free bonus.
Lufthansa and the Independent Flight Attendant Organisation (UFO) have been locked in talks for the last few weeks after a two-day walkout by cabin crew last month almost ground the airline to a complete halt.
The UFO had been demanding an immediate pay rise of 15% but has settled for an increase of 8% in May 2024, followed by a 5% rise in May 2025 and finally a 3.5% rise in May 2026.
In addition, flight attendants will receive a €3,000 tax-free bonus, which is meant to offset the cost-of-living crisis that has swept Europe.
There are also a slew of smaller pay rises, including for pursers and foreign language speakers.
The wage deal will ensure that Lufthansa doesn’t face the threat of strike action by flight attendants for at least the next three years. The deal comes a couple of weeks after Lufthsana reached an agreement with the Verdi union which represents tens of thousands of ground workers at the airline.
Lufthansa says strike action by both the Verdi and UFO unions had cost the carrier around €250, but chief executive Carsten Spohr had warned workers that the airline simply couldn’t meet their pay demands because Lufthansa had to remain competitive with low-cost rivals.
Spohr raised eyebrows throughout the industry when he suggested that workers would have to compromise on a deal because the airline assigns strike costs to the workgroup that stages a walkout.
The new wage deal for flight attendants only applies to Lufthansa’s mainline crew members and not the increasing number of subsidiaries which have been set up with the sole purpose of lowering employee costs.
Lufthansa now operates Eurowings for short-haul flights around Europe, Discover Airlines for both short and long-haul leisure-orientated routes, Lufthansa CityLine, and the latest subsidiary is Lufthansa City Airlines, which will initially takeover some domestic flights from the mainline carrier this summer.
In a statement, Lufthansa’s chief human resources officer Dr. Michael Niggemann, commented: “I am very pleased about the agreement with our collective bargaining partner UFO – for our colleagues in the cabin, who do an outstanding job every day, and also for our guests, who finally have planning security again in this regard when flying with Lufthansa.”
“Our goal has always been to find a solution at the negotiating table together with the union. We have now succeeded in doing so,” Niggemann continued.
