(Reuters) – German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said on Thursday that it is likely to call for further strikes at Lufthansa as a long-running row that has hit the German carrier’s profits continues.

The dispute revolves around an early retirement scheme and Lufthansa’s plans to expand its low-cost operations to win back market share lost to the likes of Ryanair and easyJet, which are expanding swiftly in Germany.

Ten strikes staged by VC last year cost the airline close to 200 million euros in operating profit and affected hundreds of thousands of passengers.

In December, the pilots said they were prepared to enter mediation to resolve the dispute, but only if it included all areas of conflict with management.

Lufthansa rejected that demand, however, saying it was willing to expand talks beyond just early retirement benefits, but that low-cost expansion was not up for discussion.

VC said in a statement on Thursday that further industrial action was “possible and likely” as it meets with its members in the coming weeks.