The German carrier Lufthansa announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to raise the salaries of its pilots by 8.7% over four years.
Pilots have also been promised one-off bonus payments amounting to between €5,000 and €6,000. The pilots’ union Cockpit called this “around half a month’s salary”.
Management and passengers alike hope that this will bring the end of the strikes which have plagued the airline over the last five years, racking up what Lufthansa says is €351 million in total since 2014.
The new wage agreement affects some 5,400 pilots covered by Lufthansa’s collective bargaining agreement, including those at Lufthansa Cargo and its low-cost subsidiary Germanwings.
The wage increase will add some €85 million per year to the airline’s operating costs.
Cockpit union spokesman Markus Wahl said although union negotiators had agreed upon the deal, its members would have the final say on whether to accept.
Negotiations are still on the cards, however, on several matters of disagreement, including pilots’ pensions.
