German airlines Lufthansa seems to be in trouble again after pilots on Tuesday went on a two-day strike asking better pay. The strikes have lead to cancellation of a whopping 1,700 flights and millions of dollars in loss.
As of November 25, the strike had affected 2,600 planes and more than 315,000 passengers.
The airline had offered to increase wages by 4.4 percent in two instalments, as well as a one-off payment equal to 1.8 month's pay. However, the pilots demand much more.
The Vereinigung Cockpit union wants an average annual pay increase of 3.7 percent for 5,400 pilots in Germany dating back to 2012, according to AlJazeera. Lufthansa pilots earn on average 180,000 euros ($190,000) a year before tax and a captain's salary can go up to 22,000 euros ($23,000) a month before tax.
The airline is incurring losses up to $11 million per day and it could take a long-term hit as well.
"It's not pleasant," said Lufthansa passenger Dieter Eidt. "I believe that they are demanding something that can't be fulfilled and which is unjustified," Eidt said of the pilots.
"Tuesday, 29NOV, short-haul flights & Wednesday, 30NOV, short- & long-haul flights are affected," tweeted Lufthansa on Tuesday.
The strike has now gone on for a week and the losses are close to $80 million, apart from the salaries the pilots are demanding.
The strike last week had affected inter-continental flights apart from short and medium-haul flights.
The stock price of Lufthansa, which has gone down 13 percent in 2016 alone, took another hit on Friday due to the strike. The stock price currently is at €12.48, according to MarketWatch.
