The UFO union, which represents 18,000 Lufthansa flight attendants, said on Thursday it was willing to hold talks for another five days to try to end a 13-month dispute with the airline over pay and conditions.

If UFO and Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) failed to come to an agreement by then, the union said it would call for industrial action.

The move comes as Lufthansa cuts 3,500 jobs - about 3 percent of its global workforce of 117,000 - and freezes investment to boost profit squeezed by soaring fuel prices and fierce competition from low-cost and Middle East carriers.

Lufthansa has also shifted contracts of pilots and flight attendants at carrier Austrian Airlines to a lower-cost subsidiary and boosted cooperation between its main Lufthansa brand and low-cost carrier Germanwings. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency