easyJet takeover of DBA under threat in pay row

Budget airline easyJet’s takeover of Germany’s DBA is threatened by a dispute over the German pilots’ pay.

EasyJet has halted negotiations with the German pilots union after failing to persuade the pilots to adopt easyJet’s salary structure, said spokeswoman Antje Urban.

“Easyjet has made very clear that equalising the salary structures is a very important goal,” Urban said.

British-based easyJet has an option to purchase DBA, the German subsidiary of British Airways formerly known as Deutsche BA, before July 3, 2003.

Georg Fongern, a union spokesman, said DBA broke off talks last week, but added that the two sides had exchanged proposals on possible dates for new talks.

“They are coming back to the table and I think we will get a solution,” Fongern said. “We want to be flexible and keep these jobs.”

Unlike many bigger, long-distance airlines, easyJet has reported strong passenger traffic in spite of the downturn in the industry as a whole since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

DBA has suffered, particularly since bigger rival Lufthansa has slashed some fares to compete with budget rivals.