Lufthansa CityLine (CL, Munich) pilots are slated to operate a fleet of leisure-oriented A340-300s for parent Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) after management reached an agreement with its Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilot union.
According to airliners.de, 160 flight crew have been enlisted to operate the jets as part of the German carrier's "Jump" project. The A340s will be transferred to CityLine's Air Operators Certificate (AOC) before being leased back to Lufthansa on a wet-lease basis.
As part of plans to regain long haul leisure market share, Lufthansa will operate a fleet of eight reconfigured A340-300s on routes it was forced to abandon, due in large part, to Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines.
The agreement with VC is critical as Jump's success hinges on crew costs being kept to a minimum so as to allow Lufthansa to offer more competitive fares. CityLine crew are seen as the most suitable option given that their salaries are 20% less than those of Lufthansa's mainline operation.
