Pilot strikes have cost Lufthansa E75m so far: Bild

Walkouts by Lufthansa pilots have cost the airline E75m so far, German Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing company and pilots union sources. Daily costs are now at about E15m, the newspaper reported. Citing an internal memo of the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) to its member Bild said utilization at some long-haul flights have dropped to below 10% as a result of the strikes. Lufthansa pilots staged another walkout on Tuesday, with neither side showing any willingness to yield in a dispute that has already cost the German airline hundreds of millions of euros since early 2014. The stoppage hit short-haul flights departing from German cities, forcing Lufthansa to cancel 816 out of around 3,000 planned flights on Tuesday. The pilots have also announced plans to strike on short- and long-haul flights on Wednesday, which will see a further 890 flights cancelled. Lufthansa has put the cost of the first two days of last week's strike at about E20m, but past experience shows the effect on future bookings could cost tens of millions more. <br/>