Pilots at Lufthansa subsidiary Cityline have voted in favour of potential strike action. The pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) announced on Thursday that 95 percent of members participated, and 99 percent voted in favor of VC taking "all necessary measures up to and including industrial action if required." The union had declared collective bargaining talks with Cityline to have failed in mid-February.
In the collective bargaining talks, VC had demanded a retrospective pay increase of 9.9 percent. According to the union, Cityline put forward a new offer on Wednesday. However, VC said the offer was "not acceptable as it falls far short of our demands." The offer also included an "absolute peace obligation covering all collectively bargainable issues until the end of 2027." VC President Andreas Pinheiro warned that this would leave the union "effectively unable to act" with regard to Cityline.
Cityline operates as a regional feeder carrier for Lufthansa's core operations, handling short and medium-haul connecting flights to the group's main hub airports in Munich and Frankfurt. The airline operates a fleet of 30 jets and employs around 400 pilots. According to Lufthansa group management, Cityline's flight operations are set to wind down next year, with its routes transitioning to the newly established Lufthansa City Airlines before then.
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