After a series of strikes organized by the union representing its pilots, Germany’s largest airline, Lufthansa, has announced it will seek mediation with the union in an effort to avoid further work stoppages.

The pilot’s union objects to a plan by the airline to raise the retirement age for newly hired pilots. The union sees this as a real reduction in compensation as it delays retirement benefits, which in real terms reduces the time period that retirees can enjoy those benefits. In response, the union has staged several walkouts and strikes, including one that caused the cancellation of nearly 1,500 flights, affecting about 150,000 passengers. Further strikes are already scheduled.

Lufthansa is in serious financial trouble, and the changed retirement age for pilots is only one of several attempts to bring the airline back to profitability. The other efforts include new budget-friendly flight packages and a tighter focus on the Eurozone and short flights designed for citizens of the European Union seeking to use their ability to cross borders easily.

However, the strikes by the pilot union have been crippling at a time when the airline is desperate to increase profits, leading to the opposite condition with lost earnings and disastrous refunds being forced just when the airline seeks to bolster cash flow. The move to mediation is thus obvious a successful result of the pressure the pilot’s union has put on the airline.

Another strike is scheduled for the next week. The union has so far not issued any statement regarding whether they will reconsider the action in the wake of these new negotiations.