19,000 Lufthansa Cabin Crew Will Now Get A Pay Rise

Lufthansa has reached a new pay and terms of employment agreement with flight attendant union Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation (UFO) that will see cabin crew members granted a salary rise next year. Let’s take a closer look at this story below.

Lufthansa cabin crew pay rise

The new agreement between Lufthansa and union UFO will grant a phased pay rise for approximately 19,000 cabin crew at the German carrier. A one-off pay increase in January will be followed by a 2.5% raise in the summer, along with higher beginner salaries and a raise for senior crew members.

• Basic monthly pay increased by €250 from January 1st, 2023
• A 2.5% salary increase from July 1st, 2023
• Starting salaries up by 17% for new cabin crew
• A 9% pay increase for the highest salary band crew members

Photo: Lufthansa

Michael Niggemann, Chief Officer of Human Resources and Labor Director at Lufthansa, said,

“We are delighted that we have reached an agreement with our social partner UFO on salary increases that have a strong social dimension for our Deutsche Lufthansa AG cabin personnel, and have simultaneously been able to conclude a new collective terms-of-employment agreement. Our cabin personnel in the lower and mid-range salary groups will particularly benefit from the agreement we have reached. With this, we are paying due and full regard to our social responsibilities, while also ensuring our attractiveness as an employer.”

This is on top of an agreement between the two parties reached in August that granted cabin crew five one-off payments totaling €1,200 to offset rising living costs. According to UFO, the latest terms will represent a pay rise of “between at least 8.89% and 17.47%” depending on salary band.

UFO collective bargaining board member Stefan Schwerthelm commented,

“Our patient and tenacious attitude during the months of negotiations has paid off. With a first solid pay increase after two years of crisis caused by the pandemic, we can now go through 2023, for which an upswing is forecast at Lufthansa. We are convinced that the safeguarding of valuable jobs in the Lufthansa cabin can be further promoted in this way.”

New employment and expense terms

Several other important terms were agreed upon, including improved employment opportunities and more generous allowances and expenses. This includes an expense increase of 20% and an allowance increase of up to 30%.

The German carrier has also scrapped its “seasonal cabin model”, adding roughly 2,700 part-time staff to its regular workforce from April 1st, 2023, and removing restrictions on working hours. In its place, the airline has rolled out a “new and more flexible” part-time employment model, while cabin crew working on part-time contracts can now more easily transition to full-time employment.

Photo: Lufthansa

Niggeman added,

“The flexible new workhours models offer prospects, perspectives and appealing working terms and conditions that are closely aligned to the needs of our cabin personnel.”

A difficult summer

Flight attendants at Lufthansa criticized the German carrier over the summer at the peak of the European travel chaos, blaming the airline’s cost-cutting measures for stressful working conditions. Due to these measures, flights were operating with fewer cabin crew members and many flight attendants were asked to perform additional responsibilities at no extra reimbursement.

Lufthansa faced pilot strikes during the tail-end of summer which had a major impact on operations. However, the airline was able to avert further disruption by reaching a pay agreement with ground staff in August.

What do you think about this new agreement between Lufthansa and its flight attendants? Let us know your insights in the comments.