Lufthansa ready for arbitration to resolve long-running staff dispute

Lufthansa is ready to go into arbitration to resolve a long-running staff dispute, the CEO of Germany’s largest airline said on Thursday, as a walkout by flight attendants disrupted travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers. An end to the row over pay and pensions, and the legal status of flight attendants’ union UFO would relieve the company of a major headache.

Lufthansa faces intense competition from Ryanair and easyJet and has reacted by cutting costs and announcing a turnaround plan for its budget unit Eurowings, which it said on Thursday was paying off as it reported better-than-expected quarterly figures. Shares in the Frankfurt-based group were up 8.5% at 1140 GMT.

“We are confident of finding a way to resolve legal questions by going into arbitration,” Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said.