Lufthansa reaches deal with pilots to cut costs

BERLIN (Reuters) – Lufthansa on Wednesday said it had reached an agreement with pilots union Cockpit on a package of short-term measures to cut costs after Germany’s flagship airline received a government bailout to secure its future.

The package includes reduced top-up payments and pension benefits and compensation adjustments for the airline’s pilots through to the end of 2020, in return for job guarantees until at least the second quarter of next year, Lufthansa said.

It added that wage increases previously negotiated for this year would be postponed until January 2021.

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaam, editing by Emma Thomasson)