The German flag carrier Lufthansa has reached a deal with the UFO flight attendant union on post-pandemic pay raises and new part-time contracts that will finally end a temporary ‘crisis’ contract that was negotiated at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
Under the new deal, flight attendants will receive an extra €250 per month starting in January 2023. For new-hire flight attendants, the pay raise will equate to a 17 per cent pay hike, and it will work out as a 9 per cent raise for veteran flight attendants who are on the top scale of pay.
Flight attendants will also see their daily allowances, which are used to pay for food and drink during layovers, rise by 20 per cent. The daily rate for short-haul layovers will increase to €50, while long-haul layovers will attract a daily allowance of €57.
To placate flight attendants who wanted more job certainty, the airline has also agreed to offer more permanent contracts and offer different part-time options – especially during the summer months when more flight attendants are required for a packed schedule.
“We are delighted that we have reached an agreement with our social partner UFO on salary increases that have a strong social dimension for our Deutsche Lufthansa AG cabin personnel, and have simultaneously been able to conclude a new collective terms-of-employment agreement,” commented Lufthansa’s chief human rights officer, Michael Niggemann on Tuesday.
“Our cabin personnel in the lower and mid-range salary groups will particularly benefit from the agreement we have reached. With this, we are paying due and full regard to our social responsibilities while also ensuring our attractiveness as an employer,” Niggemann continued.
The agreement will remain in force until December 2023 at the earliest – during which time the airline will be protected from the threat of flight attendants staging any strike action.
The Lufthansa Group is, however, still dealing with uncertain labour relations at its low-cost Eurowings subsidiary where pilots have already staged two walkouts and flight attendants are fighting for a better contract.
Lufthansa also suffered a costly walkout by thousands of ground staff earlier this year before the airline offered bumper raises.
