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German flag carrier Lufthansa announced Friday it had cancelled 800 flights daily from Monday to Thursday due to a planned pilots' strike.
"Two-thirds of the Lufthansa flights affected by the strike have been cancelled as a pre-emptive measure," a company statement said.
Around 800 flights a day will be cancelled, but regional flights would not be affected, it said, adding that about 1,000 flights would go ahead daily.
The announcement came after the airline, Europe's biggest, failed to reach a deal with the Cockpit union.
The strike could cost Lufthansa more than 65 million euros (88 million dollars), based on an estimate given Thursday which said the airline would lose around 100 million euros if all flights were grounded.
Before announcing the cancellations, the airline stressed that it remained "ready for constructive talks concerning job security" but said the union had rejected an offer to relaunch negotiations.
Cockpit plans a four-day strike from midnight on Monday (2300 GMT on Sunday) to press for a 6.4 percent pay rise, more say in company decisions and commitments that pilots would keep their jobs when Lufthansa shifts passengers to cheaper foreign affiliates.
A list of the flights still running during the stoppage can be found on the Lufthansa website -- www.lufthansa.com -- while tickets booked for the strike period before Thursday can be changed once for no charge.
Lufthansa's subsidiary Germanwings said that despite the strike, it would run two-thirds of its flights.
A demonstration by union members has been scheduled for early Monday at the Frankfurt airport, Europe's third busiest after London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
The German railway Deutsche Bahn said Friday it was ready to carry some of Lufthansa's passengers.
"In liaison with Lufthansa, Deutsche Bahn is prepared to transport passengers affected by the strike," a statement said, adding that it would exchange Lufthansa tickets for its own.
Lufthansa, which employs around 100,000 people, was hit nine years ago by the worst strike in its history, one which caused travel misery for passengers and cost the firm millions of euros.
