BERLIN (AP) — German airline Lufthansa says it's agreed to an arbitrator's proposal for a new wage agreement for its 5,400 pilots, signaling an end to a lengthy and bitter dispute.

The airline, Germany's largest, said Wednesday it agreed to a four-stage 8.7 percent total wage increase, and a one-off 30 million euro ($31.7 million) payment that would translate to some 5,000 to 6,000 euros per employee.

The new agreement will be in place until the end of 2019.

The Cockpit union had been staging strikes sporadically since April 2014, costing Lufthansa multiple millions, before the two sides agreed to arbitration on December.

Cockpit, which had no immediate comment, had sought raises of 3.66 percent a year going back 5½ years.