BERLIN (AP) – A former economic adviser to the German government has been chosen as the arbitrator in a bitter pay dispute between Lufthansa and its flight attendants and says he hopes for a solution by the end of October.

Lufthansa announced Thursday that Bert Ruerup, the former head of an independent panel of economists that advises the government, had accepted the task.

The airline and the UFO union agreed last Friday to take their dispute over pay and other issues to arbitration. That accord came as cabin crews staged a 24-hour walkout, forcing Lufthansa to cancel hundreds of flights.

Ruerup was quoted as telling the Tagesspiegel newspaper: “The case is very complex, but I think that we can find a solution in four to six weeks, by the end of October.”

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