Lufthansa's big-time overhaul
Turning around the carrier with the crane logo means that harsh conflicts between management, crew members and staff on the ground have been going on for two years - and they are not likely to be resolved soon.
Europe's biggest airline
Lufthansa's most important operating goups are the Passenger Airline Group, Logistics, Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) and Catering. The Passenger Airline Group includes Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines, as well as low-cost carrier Eurowings. Major investments include Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines and German-Turkish charter airline SunExpress.
Struggling with competitors
Lufthansa, one of the world's largest airlines, is struggling to compete with its lower-cost rivals and trying to implement cost-cutting measures, most notably over pensions, which it says are unsustainable. Lufthansa is aiming to keep at bay long-haul rivals such as Emirates and Turkish Airlines. In Europe, the carrier is struggling with mounting competition from budget airlines.
Costly labor disputes
Lufthansa's efforts have annoyed unions, not only the flight attendants' Ufo but also Cockpit, which represents the airline's pilots. Cockpit has held 13 strikes at Lufthansa since the labor dispute started to escalate. Those walkouts have cost Europe's biggest carrier 320 million euros ($355 million).
Costly strikes cheaper than excessive pensions
Analysts hail Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr for taking a tough stance in the labor dispute. They consider the cost of strikes to be less dramatic than excessive pension costs. The airline has recently announced it was projecting full-year operating profit to come in at between 1.75 and 1.95 billion euros, up from the 1.5 billion euros projected previously.