Lufthansa pilots ready for more strikes as Munich walkout starts

Lufthansa's pilots, holding their third walkout at the German airline within a week on Wednesday, said they remained ready to strike again if an updated offer on an early retirement scheme promised by Lufthansa did not go far enough.

Pilots represented by union Vereinigung Cockpit were holding a strike at Munich airport, Lufthansa's second biggest airport after Frankfurt, from 0800-1600 GMT on Wednesday.

The airline cancelled 140 flights as a result, but said it was able to keep long-haul flights in the air after some pilots offered to work.

Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said on Tuesday evening that the airline would present a more detailed offer to the union at the start of next week.

"We are still ready to strike. We have to see what this offer is, but we are happy that the employer seems to have moved slightly," Vereinigung Cockpit board member Markus Wahl told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Munich walkout comes after strike action at Lufthansa's budget carrier Germanwings at the end of August, followed by a walkout at Frankfurt last week.

VC wants Lufthansa to maintain a scheme that allows pilots to retire early at the age of 55 and still receive up to 60 percent of their pay before regular pension payments start.

"For us, the early retirement scheme is very important," VC's Wahl said.

"Pilots need the scheme in the event that they feel they are not longer fully able to carry out their job.

“They should not have to wait until they are signed off sick."

Lufthansa says that with the average life expectancy increasing and a recent court ruling that pilots may work until 65, the scheme is no longer needed.

It has offered to maintain the scheme for current employees but wants a new system for those starting from 2014.

"We were the first to introduce it but now we want to have similar retirement provisions to other airlines in Europe," Spohr said on Tuesday about the early retirement scheme.

Lufthansa is in the midst of a restructuring programme and is expanding low cost operations as it battles competition form fast-growing West Asia and low cost rivals.