SHARE
COPY LINK

TRAVEL NEWS

Germany’s Lufthansa opts for gender-neutral plane greeting

Europe's largest airline group Lufthansa said Tuesday it was retiring "ladies and gentlemen" as an on-board greeting in favour of gender-neutral alternatives.

Germany's Lufthansa opts for gender-neutral plane greeting
A Lufthansa plane flying near Frankfurt in May. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Boris Roessler

A spokesman for the German company told AFP the move was intended to make all passengers on board feel welcome, including those who do not identify as male or female.

“Crews are being instructed to choose a greeting that includes all passengers,” he said, adding that “dear guests” or a simple “good morning/good evening” would be used instead.

The new policy, which will be phased in gradually, applies to German flag carrier Lufthansa as well as the group’s Swiss, Austrian, Brussels and Eurowings airlines.

The company said it was responding to a “discussion that is rightly being held in society” about non-binary gender identification and a desire “to value all guests on board”.

Germany has joined the international debate about more inclusive language to take into account diverse gender identities and an increasingly multicultural society.

In recent days major cities including Berlin, Munich and Hamburg said that their transport networks would stop using the word “Schwarzfahren (black riding) to describe travel without a ticket in response to complaints the word had a racist taint.   

READ ALSO: ‘No more Schwarzfahren’: Austrian and German cities to phase out term due to racism concerns

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

TRAVEL NEWS

No Easter strikes: Germany’s Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

German airline giant Lufthansa and a union representing ground staff said Wednesday they had reached an agreement on pay after a lengthy dispute, averting the threat of Easter holiday strikes.

No Easter strikes: Germany's Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

The deal between the carrier and the powerful Verdi union came after ground staff staged walkouts in recent months, leading to widespread disruption for air travellers.

After a series of direct pay talks failed, Lufthansa and Verdi entered arbitration this week, leading to Wednesday’s breakthrough.

Details of the deal were not immediately released.

But Lufthansa personnel chief Michael Niggemann said it was a “good compromise with substantial salary increases over the term of the agreement”.

Verdi had been seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the roughly 25,000 Lufthansa ground staff that it represents.

The ground staff staged their latest strike in early March, with a two-day walkout that led to the cancellation of up to 90 percent of Lufthansa’s flights. They also walked out in February.

Lufthansa cabin crew, who went on strike at major airports earlier this month, have still not reached a pay deal with the carrier.

But news outlet Spiegel reported that the airline group and the UFO union, which represents cabin crew, are due to enter arbitration after the Easter break.

The airline group earlier this month warned of the damaging impact of the wave of recent strikes, saying they would contribute to heavier losses in the first quarter compared to last year.

Lufthansa also faced a wave of strikes in 2022 by staff pushing for higher wages, leading to them winning hefty wage increases.

The group — whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines — had to be bailed out by the German government during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it has since bounced back strongly as travel has recovered, prompting unions to argue the airline is not passing on enough of its bumper earnings to its staff in the form of pay rises.

Wednesday’s announcement represents some more much-needed good news for employers in Europe’s top economy, who have faced a tough season of wage negotiations and strikes across many sectors.

This week, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and union GDL struck an agreement that will see train drivers work a shorter week, ending a months-long row that caused a series of crippling strikes.

The strikes have added to an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent in 2023.

READ ALSO: ‘A difficult road’: Strike-hit German rail operator agrees to shorter work week

SHOW COMMENTS