Air France pilots reject 'last offer' to end strike already in its second week
Airline vows to delay expanding budget arm crews fear will cut pay, but union rejects deal
An offer by French flag carrier Air France to freeze the expansion of its low-cost operation in a bid to end a strike by pilots was yesterday rejected by the main union, dashing hopes of a breakthrough.
As the costly strike - the longest at the airline since 1998 - entered its second week, management had said it would halt development of its leisure subsidiary Transavia until December.
Air France chief executive Alexandre de Juniac said it was "the last offer" and was expected to sketch out a "global plan to exit the crisis". He offered "to suspend the plan to create Transavia subsidiaries in Europe until the end of the year" in order to have "a deeper dialogue" with pilots, but insisted the overall project could not be called into question.
The SNPL union rejected the offer, saying it was "nothing but a smokescreen that offers no more guarantees than previous offers".
Air France pilots are on strike in protest at the airline's plans to develop Transavia France, which serves holiday destinations, primarily in the Mediterranean. They fear the airline will attempt to replace expensive Air France pilots, who can earn up to €250,000 (HK$2.47 million) a year, with Transavia pilots, who are paid considerably less.
The airline has estimated it is losing up to €15 million per day. It operated around 40 per cent of its flights yesterday, with nearly seven in 10 pilots walking off the job.
Air France has made concessions before - notably an offer to limit the Transavia fleet to 30 planes compared to 37 originally planned - but to no avail so far.
Only about 40 per cent of Air France flights operated yesterday. The airline said flights AF188 and AF185 to and from Hong Kong scheduled for today had been cancelled. Air France advised passengers to check with the airline before travelling.
