Lufthansa strike

The management of the oldest airline company in Germany caught a break this week. The nearly 80 year old company Lufthansa was staring at a huge loss in profits until one woman decided to step in. Frankfurt labor court judge Silke Kohlschitter was able to bring the representatives of the union and management together this week. The pilots were already 18 hours into the strike when negotiations were reopened.

The two sides were able to reach an agreement on the most important issues which were: salary increases, better working conditions, and more rest time for the nearly 5,000 Lufthansa pilots. Several other issues were placed aside and still remain unsolved at this time. The pilots however, are once again flying passengers to and from destinations.

This agreement could not have come at a better time for the German airline because for the first time, they are seeing profits dwindle. This can be linked to a number of reasons. One reason is of course, the current economic situation in the world. More and more company's will no longer shell out more money for their business travels. They now choose coach tickets over the more expensive first class. The company also spent 16 billion euros on a fleet of new aircraft that have yet to be completed. They can not turn those planes into a profit until they are airborne. The end of the strike could not have come at a better time for Lufthansa and it will save the company more than 1 billion euros in lost profits.

I chose this article because it truly shows that the economic crisis we are facing at home is also a global crisis. It seems that the German airline company is facing many of the same finical troubles that many Americans are seeing as well. The company tries to improve itself by purchasing new and badly needed aircraft only to have profits drop at the worst possible time. The pilots are asking for what they think is fair compensation for the job they perform and the company is trying to enact cost saving measures to keep it afloat. Hopefully this economic downfall can somehow turn itself around in the near future. I know that we are all ready to hear some good news come out of the business world.

I found this article at:http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,681193,00.html