Air Freight Disruptions – Lufthansa Pilots Strike
Air Cargo shippers are challenged by disruptions again today as a strike by Lufthansa pilots forced the cancellation of 50 long-haul flights to and from Frankfurt, Germany, the German carrier’s global cargo hub.
The strike: At issue are changes in transitional retirement benefits. Pilots may currently retire with 60% of their salary at age 55. Pilots are fighting to keep this early retirement option but Lufthansa has said it is obsolete. The airline wants to raise the early retirement age because recent changes in European Union laws now allow pilots to fly until age 65. The airline needs to raise its early retirement age to cut costs and ensure it remains competitive over time.
The strike comes just two days after pilots at Air France ended a two-week stoppage that also impacted the French carrier’s cargo operations.
From JOC:
The strikes are having a much greater impact on cargo than in the past because of the increasing shift of freight to the belly holds of passenger aircraft as airlines downsize their freighter fleets as they deploy wide-bodied planes with more cargo capacity.
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