(AOF) – The pilots of the low-cost airline Eurowings belonging to Lufthansa have filed a strike notice for Thursday, October 6. “Ten rounds of negotiations have not resulted in any meaningful rapprochement,” the home pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said in a press release. VC demands better pay and better working conditions. This could happen “for example by reducing the maximum flight duty time and increasing the rest periods between missions.” says the union.
However, the labor agreement has not changed since 2015,” adds VC. “The workload has increased considerably. The employer regularly uses the working time of colleagues to the maximum allowed, which cannot be permanent”, says Matthias Baier, press spokesperson and member of the VC board of directors. “We regret the discomfort for passengers, but the management of Eurowings does not listen to our demands, forcing us to strike.”
“We are open to discussions on how to achieve reasonable working hours for long-term Eurowings employees,” says VC President Marcel Gröls. “So far, however, it has not been possible to agree a common path with the employer. It is not enough to sit down at the negotiating table – you also have to be willing to find a solution and not present counter-demands as an offer.”
On September 2, Lufthansa pilots went on strike, forcing Lufthansa to cancel 800 flights.
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Once again weakened results for European airlines
With fuel accounting for up to 35% of their costs, professionals believe European airlines are unlikely to return to profit until 2023 or 2024 at the earliest. These players predict that energy prices will remain high at least until 2023. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced a forecast of cumulative losses of 9.7 billion dollars in 2022 for airlines at around the world, it will still be necessary to wait until 2023 to see the return to profits on a global scale, due in particular to the surge in oil costs and the rise in labor costs. On the positive side, travel demand seems to be resisting the uncertainties caused by the international economic and political situation. However, the uncertainties concerning the Covid, the war in Ukraine, as well as the rise in prices are strengthening last-minute reservations. According to Iata, only 8% of international reservations made at the end of May went beyond September.
The social climate is deteriorating in low-cost companies
These companies are benefiting from a very strong recovery. They had already managed to monopolize 40% of air traffic in 2021, this proportion could even rise to 50% this year. However, strike movements have affected the activity of Volotea, EasyJet and Ryanair, with confrontations over pay and working conditions. In general, the sector faces a shortage of personnel. After having severely cut their workforce in 2020 and 2021, companies and airports must urgently recruit to support the relaunch of activity.