FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa has made renewed contact with the cabin crew union, it said on Friday as a 24-hour strike got underway across Germany, in the first sign of reconciliation between the two sides in a row over pay and conditions.
Lufthansa said it hoped to be able to operate around half of the approximately 1,800 flights it usually carries out per day, more than previously forecast.
After the strike was announced earlier this week, it had said it would probably cancel around two thirds of its flights.
The UFO cabin crew union is also open to talks at the weekend, the head of the union told Reuters at Frankfurt airport. "We hope that this will mark a turning point," UFO's Nicoley Baublies said, referring to the prospect of negotiations.
Lufthansa is under pressure not to give in to UFO's demands for 5 percent pay increases and guarantees against outsourcing as it tries to sharply cut costs, as part of a plan to improve annual earnings by 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) by 2014.
Friday marks the third day of strikes in the dispute, which has led to Lufthansa cancelling hundreds of flights at a cost of more than 10 million euros.
(Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Peter Maushagen; Editing by David Holmes)