Lufthansa rejects pilots' union demands as dispute drags on

German flagship airline Lufthansa's chief executive Jens Ritter has again rejected union demands in an ongoing pensions dispute involving its pilots, describing them as unrealistic.

"We don't have anywhere near the money to further improve our already very good company pension scheme," Ritter was quoted as saying by the Funke Mediengruppe on Saturday.

The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots' union is demanding higher employer contributions to occupational pensions of some 4,800 pilots employed by Lufthansa's core company and Lufthansa Cargo.

Following a successful strike ballot, the pilots have been ready to strike for weeks. However, in early November the union said it would give Lufthansa more time to submit an improved offer.

Ritter said there could be room for possible compromise elsewhere, referring to Lufthansa plans to cut its domestic flight schedule for cost reasons.

"Lufthansa crews are much more interested in how the further shrinkage of the short-haul fleet can be stopped and prospects created," the chief executive said.

That is the real sticking point and he could imagine concrete commitments being made here, Ritter said.

"But to do that, the collective bargaining issues relating to retirement and transitional benefits must also be taken off the table."

According to the summer flight schedule presented at the end of October, no domestic routes in Germany will be discontinued, but there will be around 50 fewer flights per week to the Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

In the collective bargaining dispute, the union entered the negotiations with a demand for a tripling of the employer's contribution. However, no agreement was reached in the course of seven rounds of negotiations. VC members in September voted overwhelmingly in favour of strikes.