Berlin, November 10 (RHC)-- A strike by cabin crew of Germany's flagship airline Lufthansa has grounded some 113,000 passengers and canceled nearly 1,000 flights.

The strike started over the weekend after talks between the union and the airline broke down and last-minute efforts to resolve the issue failed. The strike is expected to continue for a week.

Hitting out at Lufthansa, Nicoley Baublies, the head of the UFO, said the company has "not once tried to get in touch" since the talks fell apart. Lufthansa has, however, announced its readiness "to resume discussions at any time."

The management of the company is set to discuss the consequences of the walkout in a meeting on Monday and release a statement later in the day. The strike over pay is also aimed at securing transition payments for the UFO's 19,000 members in case of early retirement amid the company's attempt to cut costs to be able to compete with low-cost airlines.

The industrial action does not affect Lufthansa subsidiaries such as Eurowings and Germanwings. The dispute between the union and Lufthansa goes back to December 2013. The airline has also seen more than a dozen pilot strikes over the past 18 months.

Lufthansa's net profit saw a 42-percent increase as it rose to 794 million euros in the third quarter of 2015 from 561 million in the same quarter last year partly due to lower fuel prices.