Korean Air pilots go on strike for the first time in 11 years

SEOUL – Unionized pilots at Korean Air Lines Co. went on a strike for the first time in 11 years, disrupting some flights on the airline's major Asian and Middle Eastern routes.

The pilots entered a 10-day strike earlier Thursday after nearly a year of wage negotiations with the management broke down.

"A strike is not our end goal. But the company's proposal for a pay raise is too little for us to accept," said a union leader.

The union is open to talks with the company, but if no wage deal is reached before the end of December, the pilot strike will be extended for another 10 days, he said.

The first 10-day strike will cancel as many as 150 passenger and cargo flights on the carrier's domestic and international routes, including ones from Incheon to Dubai, Hong Kong, Narita, Osaka, Riyadh and Jeddah, until the end of December.

Korean Air said any disruptions will be limited because the affected flights will not all be suspended at the same time, but over 10 days from Thursday. More than 90% of all flights scheduled for the period will remain intact, it said.

"We are planning to fly substitute planes if any significant disruptions are expected on the affected routes," said a company spokesman.

A complete work stoppage by pilots is prohibited by the Korean laws.

Airlines are categorized as one of the country's critical industries, meaning that at least 80% international flight operations and half of local flights must be maintained even during strikes.

Korean Air's union, of which about two thirds of the carrier's 2,700 pilots are members, has threatened to go on strike since February, demanding a 29% pay rise instead of a 1.9% increase proposed by the company.

A spokesman for Korean Air said the pilots' demands were unacceptable as the gap between their wages and other staff's was already wide.

The strike marks the carrier's first labor action since 2005, when a four-day pilot strike resulted in a loss of 67 billion won ($56 million) stemming from canceled flights and other service disruptions.

That action at the time spurred government intervention amid concerns over damage to the economy and inconvenience for passengers. (WSJ)