Frankfurt - Lufthansa pilots are to strike on Tuesday for the fourth time in three weeks as part of their industrial campaign to head off the German airline's planned new early retirement scheme.
With no agreement in sight, the pilots will walk off the job targeting long-haul flights at the airline's main Frankfurt hub starting at 9 am (0700 GMT), the Vereinigung Cockpit union said Monday.
"As Lufthansa management has not put forward an offer that is suitable for a compromise, we see ourselves forced to take further action," the union said.
The announcement of the Lufthansa pilots' plans came as pilots employed by Air France began a one-week strike on Monday over the French carrier's moves to develop its low-cost subsidiary.
The German carrier was last week forced to cancel about 140 flights at Munich Airport.
This followed industrial action by the pilots also at Frankfurt Airport and a strike last month by pilots employed by Lufthansa's budget offshoot Germanwings.
The 5 400 pilots employed at Lufthansa, Germanwings and Lufthansa Cargo want the company to maintain its current retirement benefits system, under which they can retire at 55 and continue to receive part of their wages. Lufthansa wants to scrap the plan.
Lufthansa pilots staged a three-day strike in April in pursuit of their demands for better retirement provisions.