The cockpit union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) on 12 November announced it is prolonging its strike at Lufthansa’s leisure carrier Discover Airlines through Sunday, intensifying flight cancellations that began on Tuesday. Frankfurt Airport logged eight Discover departures scrubbed on Wednesday out of 26 scheduled, while Munich lost at least one outbound service to Ibiza.
VC and cabin-crew union UFO are pressing the Lufthansa Group for standalone collective agreements covering Discover pilots and flight attendants. They argue that the group-level deal struck recently with public-sector union Verdi covers only a minority of staff and delivers lower wage progression.
![Lufthansa Discover strike extended to Sunday, cancellations mount in Frankfurt and Munich]()
Discover, launched in 2021 to challenge Condor in the holiday segment, operates 27 aircraft and 1,900 employees on routes ranging from Palma de Mallorca to Las Vegas. With the walk-out extending into a peak long-weekend for autumn city-breaks, forward-bookings are being re-accommodated to Lufthansa mainline or Eurowings – often with stop-overs and higher fares. Intercontinental connections, particularly to Namibia and the U.S. West Coast, are at risk because Discover feeds Lufthansa’s long-haul banks.
Corporate travel managers should verify PNRs, authorise flexible fare differentials and brief assignees on passenger-rights under EU261. Frankfurt ground handlers warn that same-day ticket swaps may be scarce given load factors on parallel carriers. Travel insurance with ‘trip interruption’ clauses is advisable.
The dispute underscores growing fragmentation within German aviation labour relations; similar conflicts at mainline Lufthansa and ground services are simmering. Employers reliant on Germany as a hub should diversify routings and monitor union ballots over the winter scheduling season.
VC and cabin-crew union UFO are pressing the Lufthansa Group for standalone collective agreements covering Discover pilots and flight attendants. They argue that the group-level deal struck recently with public-sector union Verdi covers only a minority of staff and delivers lower wage progression.
Discover, launched in 2021 to challenge Condor in the holiday segment, operates 27 aircraft and 1,900 employees on routes ranging from Palma de Mallorca to Las Vegas. With the walk-out extending into a peak long-weekend for autumn city-breaks, forward-bookings are being re-accommodated to Lufthansa mainline or Eurowings – often with stop-overs and higher fares. Intercontinental connections, particularly to Namibia and the U.S. West Coast, are at risk because Discover feeds Lufthansa’s long-haul banks.
Corporate travel managers should verify PNRs, authorise flexible fare differentials and brief assignees on passenger-rights under EU261. Frankfurt ground handlers warn that same-day ticket swaps may be scarce given load factors on parallel carriers. Travel insurance with ‘trip interruption’ clauses is advisable.
The dispute underscores growing fragmentation within German aviation labour relations; similar conflicts at mainline Lufthansa and ground services are simmering. Employers reliant on Germany as a hub should diversify routings and monitor union ballots over the winter scheduling season.
