Lufthansa service remains limited after strike suspended
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German airline Lufthansa said Wednesday it was making efforts to restore full service two days after its pilots suspended a strike.
About 1,400 flights were expected Wednesday, some 400 more than the total on Monday when the strike started, but still less than Lufthansa's regular daily service of 1,800 flights, an airline spokeswoman said. Full service would only be restored on Friday.
Lufthansa also reported far fewer passengers Wednesday at the Frankfurt airport, one of the airline's main hubs, as many had rebooked flights before the strike or were switched to trains.
More than 4,000 Lufthansa pilots declared a four-day strike Monday after talks with the airline failed over the weekend.
Pilots are pressing for more pay, more decision-making power in company management and a commitment that they will not be replaced when Lufthansa hires less expensive crews from affiliated airlines, such as Austrian Airlines or Lufthansa Italia.
The two sides agreed to suspend the walkout until March 8 for more talks. But the union has threatened new strikes if the negotiations did not lead to a deal.
Lufthansa is confident that a deal would be reached by March 8 and the company is also willing to negotiate a collective job guarantee, said company spokesman Klaus Walther.
The negotiations would "begin immediately," he said, adding that "first contacts at the working level" had already taken place.
Lufthansa has said that the planned pilot strike would cost the company 25 million euros (34 million U.S. dollars) daily.
