Lufthansa Flights Grounded As Pilots Strike

Fearing potential staff cuts, Lufthansa's highly-paid pilots took to the picket lines Monday, plunging the airline into its longest ever strike and forcing the carrier to cancel hundreds of flights.

Passengers left stranded by the strike that started at midnight local time are being rebooked on other airlines or have to take trains for domestic travel, after last-ditch attempts to reach a compromise failed over the weekend.

Lufthansa expects the strike will cost it about EUR€100 million euros (USD$135 million) in cash, in addition to lost ticket sales and possible damage to its reputation now that it will ground about 800 flights per day over a four-day period.

European travelers could face additional headaches, as Monday is also the final day of a cabin crew strike ballot at rival British Airways that could cast travel in Europe's second-biggest economy into turmoil as well.

Some 4,000 German pilots voted for the strike at Lufthansa on concerns the company could try to cut staff costs by shifting jobs to foreign subsidiaries such as Austrian Airlines or Lufthansa Italia, where wages are lower.

The starting salary for a first officer in a Lufthansa cockpit is EUR€62,000, for a captain EUR€115,000, according to the company's recruiting website. Media reports put the top end of pilots' salaries at about EUR€325,000.

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