Air France strike 'must end'

The French government urged Air France management and unions on Monday to clarify their positions and demands in a bid to halt a pilot strike costing the flagship airline dearly.

The industrial action over Air France's plans to establish low-cost activities is entering its second week and will be the longest strike in the company's history. The main SNPL union has extended the strike until Sept. 26.

"Service must resume right now, that's what the country wants and all those involved must understand this," the minister in charge of relations with parliament, Jean-Marie Le Guen, said just hours before new talks between unions and management.

Costly affair

Pilots have been protesting plans to expand the low-cost operations of Air France's Transavia unit by setting up foreign bases in a bid to fight back fierce competition from budget carriers.

Air France-KLM CEO Alexandre de Juniac urged strikingFrench pilots Monday to accept the airline's "final offer" for the resolution of a week-old industrial dispute that has cost the airline tens of millions of dollars.

At issue is the airline's plans to hire Transavia pilots on local contracts in southern Europe. After days of deadlocked talks and thousands of cancelled flights Air
France management on Monday proposed to suspend the plan until the
end of the year. Delaying the project would give the airline "time to hold an in-depth
dialogue on the project and to create the necessary guarantees for
the unions" on jobs, de Juniac said.

But unions are concerned Air France could abandon Transavia's development at home altogether, thus moving jobs outside the country.

The industrial action began on September 15. Air France said it was costing the company 10 to 15 million euros ($13-19 million) a day. It added the overall cost of the walkout could jump to as much as 180 million euros by Sept. 26.

hg/cjc (Reuters, AFP)