Eurowings obtains union backing to increase speed of staff hiring as Air Berlin gets carved up

Eurowings, the long- and short-haul low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa, has struck a timely deal with the Verdi union to allow the hiring of new cabin crew at very short notice. Although Eurowings has made no mention of acquiring staff from the now insolvent Air Berlin, last month it began a recruitment drive to take on approximately 200 new pilots and 400 cabin crew, all of whom need to be qualified to fly and crew Airbus A320 aircraft.
Currently, the airline has received over 1,000 applications and, coincidentally, the A320 is a jet also flown by Air Berlin. According to Eurowings, the company has also struck a similar deal with the UFO union, which also represents cabin crew.
Having met with success with Verdi, Eurowings has talks planned with Vereinigung Cockpit, the German pilots’ union, with a view to striking the same agreement, enabling the airline to hire pilots and first officers with very short notice.
A creditors’ meeting has been held on September 21 to decide the fate of Air Berlin, while Verdi has said that it expects a large proportion of the 8,000-strong Air Berlin workforce to be unable to get new jobs.
The creditors’ decision regarding Air Berlin will be announced on September 25, the day after the German election.