Lufthansa pilots strike on long-haul flights

Pilots at German airline Lufthansa have extended their two-day strike to long-haul flights in an ongoing dispute over retirement benefits.
The airline, Germany's biggest, says a total of 1,350 of its 2,800 flights scheduled through the strike's end today at midnight have been cancelled, affecting 150,000 passengers.
Yesterday, the strike was primarily focused on inner-Europe flights. Lufthansa said some of its cargo flights were rescheduled, but none had to be canceled.
Lufthansa says the other airlines in its group, Germanwings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti, are not affected.
The strike follows failed talks with the Vereinigung Cockpit union, which is demanding Lufthansa keep paying a transition payment for those wanting to retire early.

The airline wants to cut those payments, citing increasingly tough competition.