BERLIN (Reuters) – Lufthansa holiday subsidiary Discover Airlines has agreed to a wage increase for cockpit and cabin crew. This is the first collective agreement since operations began in 2021, the company and the union said on Friday.
The agreement covers 500 cockpit employees and 1,400 cabin crew members and is valid until the end of 2027, both sides said.
The Verdi union, which negotiates on behalf of workers, said the deal with Discover Airlines would result in wage increases of up to 38 percent for cabin crew and at least 16 percent for pilots.
Discover welcomed the agreement, which runs for more than three years, as a boost to passengers’ planning security after repeated strikes at various airlines in the travel industry in recent years.
Bernd Bauer, CEO of Discover Airlines, said the agreement was an important milestone for the young airline, but warned of the downsides of the deal.
“We must not forget that the agreement also entails considerable cost burdens and restrictions on our planning flexibility,” Bauer said in a statement.
The agreement with Verdi does not rule out future strikes, as competing unions are protesting against the result and demanding their own collective agreements.
The strikes at Lufthansa and its subsidiaries, including indirect effects such as customers avoiding the airline, have cost the group almost half a billion in profits, according to the company.
