Lufthansa Group maintains 'open arms' approach to union dialogue amid strategic transformation
Lufthansa Group EVP strategy Tamur Goudarzi Pour, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit - Airlines in Transition 2026, stated (23-Apr-2026) the group maintains an "open arms" approach to union dialogue adding: "There is a clear strategy how we engage in this dialogue that we are not changing". The group views conflicts during its strategic transformation as natural parts of the bargaining process, with dialogue continuing after each strike. Mr Goudarzi Pour said: "After every strike, it's like every football game - after the end of the game, it's just before the next game".
Background ✨
Deutsche Lufthansa AG executive board member for human resources and legal affairs Michael Niggemann criticised Vereinigung Cockpit’s 12/13-Mar-2026 strike call as “completely incomprehensible” amid geopolitical uncertainty linked to the war in Iran, adding Lufthansa Classic already offered a “generous company pension plan”1. Vereinigung Cockpit president Andreas Pinheiro previously invited senior Lufthansa Group managers to meet on 31-Mar-2025 to seek “constructive dialogue” and “viable and fair solutions” to collective bargaining challenges2.