Lufthansa, Pilots Reach Contract Pact

Lufthansa averted more damaging strikes by sealing a pay deal with its disgruntled pilots. But the contract could bruise the German company’s finances and drew venom from other union leaders who say the pilots got too much.

The three-year, three-month pact, which includes a raise of 28.7% in the first year, ends a dispute that proved an embarrassment and financial liability to Europe’s second-biggest airline.

Pilots staged two 24-hour strikes in May, costing the company more than $23 million.

The contract will cost Lufthansa an additional $99 million in the first year alone, the airline said. That will put pressure on the bottom line at the airline, which saw its first-quarter operating profit fall 94%, despite a healthy rise in revenue.