IBERIA AIRLINES PILOTS ON STRIKE!

Press release: found the article here

Pilots started a seven-day strike in protest at the airline's plans to launch a low-cost carrier. 240 flights will be cancelled every day, more than 100 of them in Basque airports.

Cancelled flights

Spanish flag carrier Iberia cancelled about 240 flights on Monday as pilots started a seven-day strike in protest at the airline's plans to launch a low-cost carrier.

The airline posted lists of cancelled flights on its website (www.iberia.com) for each of the seven days of the strike which began at midnight Sunday (2200 GMT) after last-ditch talks failed to persuade pilots their jobs were not in danger.

The roughly 240 flights cancelled on Monday mainly served destinations within Spain. Iberia said it was still operating all flights to the Canary and Balearic islands, Africa, the Middle East, most of its long-haul flights and about half its flights within Spain and Europe.

Pilots union SEPLA said in a statement that talks had broken down early on Monday. No spokesman for either SEPLA or Iberia was immediately available.

Iberia said on Sunday it had offered job guarantees. It stated a demand by pilots that their salaries be guaranteed until the age of 65 -- using the airline's planes as collateral -- was an "aberration".

Iberia and four partners announced the new carrier in April. It will have a 20 percent voting stake and 80 percent equity through a euro24 million (US$30 million) investment.

Iberia will not assume management of CATair, thus freeing itself from high labor costs associated with its own operations. CATair expects to have a 30-aircraft fleet by 2008.