Lufthansa & Flight Attendants Agree On New Contract

Lufthansa & Flight Attendants Agree On New Contract

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Here’s some great news for both Lufthansa flight attendants and passengers…

Lufthansa & UFO union agree on 36-month labor contract

UFO is the trade union representing around 19,000 Lufthansa flight attendants. In recent weeks, we’ve seen Lufthansa flight attendants go on strike. When combined with the strike among ground staff, this industrial action has cost the airline hundreds of millions of dollars.

There’s a positive update, as Lufthansa management and the union have reached an agreement on a new contract, which will be in effect for at least 36 months. This is great news in terms of operational reliability.

So, what are the conditions of the new contract?

  • Flight attendants will receive a one-time payment of €3,000 to offset inflation, which will be paid “as soon as possible”
  • Flight attendants will receive an average salary increase of 16.5%; this includes an 8% pay increase as of May 2024, a 5% pay increase as of March 2025, and a 3.5% pay increase as of March 2026
  • There are other increases in allowances and supplements, including an increase in holiday pay to €1,250, an increase in foreign language allowance to €65, and an increase in purser allowances to €700-800

Here’s how Lufthansa’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Michael Niggemann, describes the new contract:

“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. At the same time, the agreed salary developments in all professional groups are also an economic challenge that we now have to deal with.”

Lufthansa flight attendants have a new contract

This seems like a big win for employees & the union

Admittedly I haven’t been privy to the exact details of the negotiations, though my understanding all along has been that the union has been requesting a wage increase of around 15%, plus a one-time payment of €3,000 to offset inflation.

Best I can tell, the union received a wage increase of around 16.5%, plus a one-time payment of €3,000 to offset inflation. Now, I imagine there were some concessions along the way (perhaps the contract period is longer than the union wanted), but on balance I’d say this is a huge win for the union.

Meanwhile this seems like a failure for management. We’ve seen both ground staff and flight attendants go on strike, and both work groups nearly got what they asked for. Not only is the airline incurring hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from the strikes, but it’s also paying significant (and deserved) wage increases.

Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr recently suggested that internally the airline allocates the cost of strikes to labor groups that go on strike. Perhaps in this case, the cost of the strike should be allocated to management, and the cost of it should be subtracted from their future bonuses?

This was a costly negotiation for management

Bottom line

Lufthansa and the union representing flight attendants have come to an agreement on a new contract. Flight attendants at the airline are getting a roughly 16.5% pay increase over three years, plus a one-time payment of €3,000. This comes after flight attendants recently went on strike. It sounds like flight attendants did pretty well in these negotiations, so congrats to them.

What do you make of Lufthansa & UFO agreeing on a new contract?

Conversations (11)
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  1. Samo Guest

    So Carsten blew a hole lot of money during strikes, and destroyed Lufthansa's image to achieve nothing. Congratulations, what a great manager. I imagine shareholders are very happy! Let's hope OS is next.

  2. Adam Guest

    i would very much be interested in knowing their average salary lol, they keep crying like if they make 500€ with their travelling all around the world for being the most unwelcoming crew on board.

  3. Bob Guest

    It’s nice to hear an airline finally do the right thing

  4. Daniela Guest

    Lufthansa is a terrible, overrated airline. I have no idea why Lucky gives them so much airtime.

    1. TravelinWilly Diamond

      Thanks for letting everyone know what you, personally, don't like.

      Hopefully Ben will adjust his blog pieces to better suit your interests.

    2. STEFFL Diamond

      ... it is one of the few airlines that still offers FIRST Class!
      Plus, the "Kranich" is so burned into his mind from childhood days, he just likes it.
      BUT, it's not only LH he is reporting on, so give him credit too! ;-)
      It's still, one of the most corrupt companies in the aviation industry! I personally avoid, whenever possible.

  5. Lee Guest

    This is tremendous news. It allows the next labor group to strike and disrupt travel.

    1. TravelinWilly Diamond

      Do you have weekends off?

      Yeah, thank a union for that.

      And the list goes on and on...

    2. Samo Guest

      It's a great news. It teaches the management to not play these games.

  6. Levi Diamond

    As long as it lets Carsten create another subsidiary airline, he probably views it as a win also.

    1. STEFFL Diamond

      ;-) C O O L !
      .... probably sooooooo TRUE.
      very good point. :-) ha ha ha

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

TravelinWilly Diamond

Do you have weekends off? Yeah, thank a union for that. And the list goes on and on...

1
Bob Guest

It’s nice to hear an airline finally do the right thing

1
Levi Diamond

As long as it lets Carsten create another subsidiary airline, he probably views it as a win also.

1
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