Lufthansa Preparing New Offer as Clock Ticks Down to Pilots’ Strike

Frankfurt — Lufthansa, Germany's main airline, says it has prepared an improved salary offer as it tries to ward off a planned strike by its pilots.

The plan is to be presented at the next round of labour talks in Frankfurt, set to start at 10 am ( 0800 GMT). A decision has to be made by noon on whether to cancel flights if the pilots' Wednesday-Thursday strike goes forward, as planned.

Lufthansa already shut down operations on Friday due to a pilots' strike and said that the planned two-day strike would weigh heavily on operations.

The pilots' union demands include a 5.5% increase in pay, guaranteed raises in line with inflation, a revised pay scale, and increased compensation for sick days, vacation time and training.

Lufthansa claims the demands would include an unreasonable 40% increase in costs. The airline says that, in just a two-year period, the demands would amount to €900 million ($897 million).

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