Lufthansa faces potential strike after pilots vote for industrial action

By Ilona Wissenbach and Joanna Plucinska

FRANKFURT, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Germany's Lufthansa LHAG.DE could face a strike at its main airline after pilots' union VC said on Tuesday its members had voted in favour of a walkout in a dispute over pensions.

The vote is the union's final attempt to pressure Lufthansa into agreeing a more generous pension deal and comes just a day after the airline group held its capital markets day, presenting its plan to become more efficient.

VC, or Vereinigung Cockpit, said in a statement that a vast majority of members voted for a strike, but gave no timeline for the proposed industrial action.

LATEST LABOUR CHALLENGE FOR LUFTHANSA

The airline has resisted calls to strengthen pension rights and threatened to move more jobs to its cheaper subsidiaries, Discover and City Airlines.

"The focus must continue to be on answers that are compatible with the economic performance of Lufthansa Classic," Michael Niggemann, Lufthansa's head of human resources said in a statement.

"Our aim for the further negotiations remains to secure the future viability of the core brand Lufthansa Classic in the long term."

Still, the threat opens the door to more costly and disruptive labour action for Lufthansa, which has already faced several labour challenges over recent years as it struggles to cut costs and pursue growth.

On Monday, it unveiled plans to cut 4,000 administrative jobs by 2030 and set higher profitability targets.

Analysts were sceptical whether the cuts and new goals, including an 8-10% operating margin between 2028 and 2030, were possible given ongoing challenges.

"New aircraft delays, labour union pushback and an underestimation of potential offsetting cost headwinds all pose risks to the plan," Deutsche Bank said in a note in the wake of Monday's Capital Markets Day in Munich.

Others told Reuters that there needed to be greater focus on short-term achievements - ensuring financial stability in 2025 - rather than longer-term targets that could still change.