Pilots at Air Berlin, Germany's second-biggest airline after Lufthansa, have called off a warning strike to hold wage talks with the company, averting possible travel chaos for passengers.

"Due to an improved offer by Air Berlin, (trade union) Vereinigung Cockpit sees a chance of coming to an agreement in this wage dispute by way of negotiations," the union said on Thursday.

Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) had called for a three-hour warning strike earlier this week to fight for better working conditions for pilots at Air Berlin's charter airline unit LTU, with working hours on long-haul flights at the core of the dispute.

The move came a week after VC suspended strike action at Lufthansa that had left thousands of travellers stranded around the world, and ahead of an expected work stoppage by cabin crew at British Airways.

Air Berlin and VC met on Wednesday and agreed to hold wage talks on unresolved issues, Air Berlin said on Thursday.