Collective bargaining – how much do pilots earn at Lufthansa?

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• Pilots at Lufthansa earn an average of 110,500 euros
• 800 flights were canceled due to a day-long strike
• A partial solution with peace obligation is reached between Lufthansa and the union

That’s what pilots earn at Lufthansa

Every day, pilots pursue a demanding job in which they not only have to bear responsibility for their own lives, but also for the lives of their crew and passengers. At Lufthansa, pilots recently went on strike in the course of salary negotiations with the union. But how much does a Lufthansa pilot actually earn? Lufthansa explained to Travelbook that pilots as first officers start with 69,000 euros a year and as a captain in the highest seniority level can earn up to 250,000 euros. According to the internet portal for employer evaluation Kununu, the average salary of pilots at Lufthansa is around 110,500 euros a year.

However, it must also be considered that training to become a pilot is very expensive. As the Focus explains, the usually one to two-year training course to become a co- or chief pilot costs up to 150,000 euros. In addition, pilots have to attend further training and courses alongside their work in order to protect the lives of passengers as much as possible.

Strike paralyzes flight operations

After the Vereinigung Cockpit union (VC) called a strike, Lufthansa pilots brought almost all flight operations to a standstill on September 2nd. According to WiWo reports, a total of 800 flights with 13,000 affected passengers were canceled as a precaution because of the all-day strike that Friday. The strike was called because collective bargaining between the union and the airline failed to reach an agreement. After another strike was called for September 7, according to the union, an agreement on a partial solution was reached shortly beforehand (on September 6) between the two parties.

Those were the demands of the union

According to Travelbook, the union called for real wage protection in times of high inflation and improvements in the tariff structure for young professionals. As the union explained in a press release after the agreement, there should be a peace obligation between the two parties until June 30, 2023, which should make it possible to continue the negotiations without time pressure. In addition, it was agreed that two increases of 490 euros each in the basic salary should be made in the collective wage agreement during this period. “This is to be seen as a positive signal towards the colleagues in the cockpit, the passengers and Lufthansa’s future viability. The collective agreements are still open, but the points to be negotiated can now be discussed in a confidential setting,” explains Matthias Baier , spokesman for the Cockpit Association.

E. Schmal / Editor finanzen.net

Image sources: DANIEL ROLAND/AFP/Getty Images, Vytautas Kielaitis / Shutterstock.com