BERLIN (AP) ― German airline Lufthansa has announced plans to launch budget long-haul services at the end of next year in collaboration with SunExpress, a joint venture with Turkish Airlines.

Lufthansa’s supervisory board gave the go-ahead to expand the company’s low-cost operations on Wednesday, a meeting that came amid a battle with a union representing pilots at the airline.

The union, Vereinigung Cockpit, said it would hit Lufthansa’s long-haul flights on Thursday with its second strike this week in a dispute over the airline’s plans to cut transition payments for pilots wanting to retire early. Lufthansa is citing increasingly tough competition as it sets out its future plans.

The company said the first budget long-haul destinations will include locations in Florida, southern Africa and the Indian Ocean, initially using three Airbus A330s.