Ryanair says hopes to operate German flights as normal during strike

Ryanair hopes to operate its German flights as normal Friday during a 4-hour strike called by German pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit and thinks many of its pilots may not take part, COO Peter Bellew said. "I would be very unsure about how many of our pilots will support this tomorrow," Bellew said, adding that the airline would be able to "catch up" by flights departing later if there was disruption. Bellew described the action as a "bolt from the blue" after good dialogue with the union at a meeting Wednesday and said he would consider working with other unions instead of VC. The Vereinigung Cockpit union said it was unhappy with the Irish airline's approach to talks. A separate meeting with Portuguese pilot union SPAC Thursday was "very amicable" he said. <br/>