Lufthansa offers negotiations to settle pay row

The German airline Lufthansa on Friday offered the chance to continue negotiations to settle a pay row with its pilots who voted in favor of going on strike, said the airline in a statement. Lufthansa is offering the pilots' trade union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) the chance to continue negotiations on a new wage settlement. The airline has tabled a proposal that is comparable with that for the ground and cabin staff at Lufthansa German Airlines, said the statement. "We are still convinced that an agreement can be reached on the issues of retirement benefits and remuneration," said the statement. Over 97 percent of the pilots at three companies including Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings voted in favor of the strike to press for their demands, VC said on Friday. The VC board member Ilona Ritter said strikes were planned over Easter but left the door open for negotiations with Lufthansa.