The following email went out from Lufthansa earlier in regards to the strike that is now in full swing (commencing 00:00CET 2nd April to 23:59 4th April)
The strike action is knocking out most of Lufthansa mainline as well as Germanwings and Lufthansa Cargo.
Text:
At Lufthansa, we aim to provide you with the seamless and outstanding service that you expect from a leading airline. The standstill over the next three days means that we cannot achieve this goal. Within a very short period of time, you are once again being directly affected by a strike whose massive impact is felt far beyond Germany’s borders.
I am well aware that this week, some 425,000 Lufthansa customers will miss important business appointments and may have to postpone their well-deserved family holiday or even a trip planned to celebrate a wedding anniversary.
We cannot expect you to show any sympathy for the fact that, in the days ahead, we will not be able to take you to your destination as usual. What I can do, for my part, is offer you my sincere apologies for the disruption caused by the strike.
I deeply regret that you and many other customers are being greatly inconvenienced. We are also aware that, at times, it will be difficult to reach us in person by telephone. Although we have mobilised all the available staffing capacity at our global call centres for you, the large number of calls being received inevitably results in waiting times.
Let me assure you that at Lufthansa we are doing everything in our power to get back as quickly as possible to what we strive to be for you 365 days a year: the leading premium airline that gets you safely, comfortably and punctually to your chosen destination. You are perfectly entitled to expect that of us.
We are working flat out to ensure that we will be able to welcome you back on board our aircraft from Saturday onwards, as soon as the strike comes to an end.
We hope we can count on your continued support, despite all the inconvenience.
Yours sincerely,
The strike being called by the Vereinigung Cockpit union will hit hard, with the majority of Lufthansa’s flying programme scrubbed, as well as Germanwings taking a major hit too.
Lufthansa has published a list of flights that are due to operate.
Flights operated by Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, Lufthansa CityLine and Swiss International Air Lines are not affected, nor are flights for Germanwings operated by Eurowings.
Unless the union and the airline get together, this could be a very tough three days on both Lufthansa and its customers…
