German carrier Lufthansa has had to cancel nearly half of its long-haul flights due to a continuing strike by pilots.
Strikes will take place between 02:00 GMT and 22:59 GMT on Thursday and will affect long-haul and cargo flights.
Moreover, further strikes are planned for Tuesday, as announced by the pilots’ union.
Lufthansa management said the proposed new strike was “completely incomprehensible”.
Around 50% of long-haul flights due to depart from Frankfurt and Munich airports on Thursday 4 December will be cancelled.
This is the 10th strike the airline has experienced since April this year.
Pilots currently can retire at 55 and still receive up to 60% of their salary for ten years until they reach the usual retirement age of 65. They do not accept management’s plans to phase out part of this scheme.
TAP loses finance director
Meanwhile over at state airline TAP, the board has lost its financial director at a somewhat crucial time in the airline’s development.
Luís Rodrigues, who only took up the post in April, has handed in his resignation thus ending a career at TAP that started in 2009 when he ran the loss making maintenance company in Brazil.
The government finally has decided to sell off a majority chunk of shares in TAP but with so many conditions attached, it is unlikely to get bids of the magnitude it is seeking.
TAP’s accounts suffered a setback this summer as successive technical problems and flight cancellations took their toll.
Add the lack of income to the never ending series of strikes this year, there could not be a worse time to try and offload the company if the government wants to maximise taxpayer income.
To "ensure the urgent continuation of monitoring of ongoing processes in the company, including the privatisation," the administration has chosen Maria Teresa Silva Lopes, until now Director General of Finance to step up to the board to replace Rodrigues.
Comments
Even now on TV, hard line Portuguese patriots filmed endlessly waiting for cancelled flights are routinely speaking of going on other airlines flights. Not continuing to wait and pay a premium price. Getting their refund and then realising they can get bargain prices from the opposition.
We hear them say "Its only just this once ... as its my holiday I am missing. Or I have an important business meeting and so on".
Once the link is broken to Portugal, as it will be if no longer the national airline - even if a Portuguese ends up owning it - frequent flyers at least will be shopping around for other flights and better prices.
So, having no idea what flights competitors will take off TAP - how do you calculate the drain to other airlines ? And what do you tell your bank manager ?
But then - in limiting what other EU nationals can offer here in Portugal - TAP's premium pricing just mirrors the nationwide problem of not enough variety.