Lufthansa’s announcement that it wants to found a new continental platform is met with incomprehension at Vereinigung Cockpit union

Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) President Stefan Herth reacted with incomprehension to Lufthansa’s announcement that it intends to set up another new airline platform for continental traffic to save on costs if negotiations on a new union contract collapse.

“We cannot currently see any reorientation of the overall strategy. Time and again, only partial solutions based on old models are being sought. As a VC, we recognise a need for consolidation and the need for a holistic reorientation of the Lufthansa Group.

The VC offers to help shape this within the framework of a responsible new cooperation. We attach great importance to secure prospects and fair working and remuneration conditions for all colleagues.

The strategy of constantly establishing and closing new platforms has not brought the desired success for Lufthansa in the past and is short-sighted and uncreative. Instead, Lufthansa should definitely concentrate on improving its product quality and on more efficient structures instead of seeking salvation in ever new platforms. In its 2020 annual report, the aim of the desired consolidation was already to reduce the number of flight operations and thus the complexity.”

Dr Marcel Gröls, chairman of collective bargaining policy at VC, says:

“The newly announced continental platform is likely to increase the already confusing group complexity and to get bogged down. Further fragmentation of the tariff landscape is not in our interest and cannot be in the interest of Lufthansa. We are therefore working on a common path, which offers solutions for all employee groups in the corporate cockpits.”

• Tuesday, March 01, 2022