The deal comes after Lufthansa ground staff also reached a pay deal last month, and is the latest positive news for employers in Germany who have faced a wave of walkouts due to high inflation.

Lufthansa’s cabin crew at the Frankfurt and Munich airports went on strike last month to push their demands, leading to widespread flight cancellations.

The agreement affecting around 19,000 flight attendants runs until the end of 2026, and comprises pay rises of 8% this year, 5% next year, and 3.5% in 2026, Lufthansa said.

It also includes a €3,000 bonus to compensate for the impact of higher prices.

“We fought hard to push through this” deal, said Harry Jaeger, lead negotiator from UFO, the union representing the cabin crews.

“It was not possible to avoid using industrial action to convince Lufthansa of the seriousness of our demands. However, we can now be very satisfied with the result.”

Lufthansa’s personnel chief Michael Niggemann said the agreement was good “for our colleagues in the cabin, who do an outstanding job every day, and also for our guests, who finally have planning certainty again”.

The deal means the cabin crew will not go on strike over the busy summer holiday season when Germany is also due to host the European football championships.

UFO members still need to approve it.

Cabin crew for two other Lufthansa subsidiaries – Discover and CityLine – have still not reached pay deals, but UFO said they were confident of positive news in the near future.

The Lufthansa group – whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss, and Brussels Airlines – had to be bailed out by the German government during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it has since bounced back strongly as travel has recovered, prompting unions to argue the airline is not passing on enough of its bumper earnings to its staff.