Eurowings Pilots Announce Strike Action

[In The News]

DALLAS – Eurowings (EW) pilots have announced a one-day strike tomorrow, October 6, after talks with the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) failed.

The union is looking at easing the workload of its members at the German low-cost carrier by reducing maximum flight hours and increasing rest periods. Ten rounds of negotiations have been entered into but subsequently failed. Pilots had voted in favour of strike action back in August with 97.7%.

The airline claims that the pilots demands would force it to cancel around 20% of its current flying schedule. Photo: Eurowings.

Marcel Gröls, Chairman of the Cockpit Association, said, “We are open to talks about how we can achieve reasonable working hours for Eurowings employees in the long term. So far, however, it has not been possible to agree on a common path with the employer. It is not enough to sit at the negotiating table – you also have to be willing to find a solution and not present counter-demands as an offer.”

Minimising Passenger Impact

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Meanwhile, the airline said that it expects to be able to operate ‘around half of its normal flight programme.’ It went on to say that it was doing ‘everything possible to minimise the impact of the strike action on passengers’ and will be relying on its airline partners within the Lufthansa Group to get its customers to where they need to be. Flights operated by Eurowings Europe (E2) will not be affected.

Airbus A320-214 (D-AIZS) was delivered to parent Lufthansa (LH) in April 2013 before being transferred to EW in March 2015. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways.

Management at EW have criticised the move. Kai Duve, Head of Finance and Human Resources, said, “Despite two upcoming salary increases of well over 10% in the next four months, VC is demanding 14 additional days off a year and a reduction in the maximum weekly working time by five hours.” This additional time off would make around 20% of the airlines current flying schedule “impossible.” Duve went on to say that the strike was “completely disproportionate and irresponsible.”

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Featured Image: Eurowings Airbus A320-214 (D-AIZT). Photo: Fabrizio Spicuglia/Airways.

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