Air France has said that pilots protesting the new cost cuts and new strategy for its Transavia unit have given notice that they may not end their strike until next Friday (September 26th).
Air France is attempting to increase earnings through Transavia, however, pilots are concerned that the airline will use cheaper labor from foreign bases.
The strike began on Monday and the Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL) union warned that if their demands are not met pilots could extend their strike “indefinitely”.
Since the strike began more than 60 percent of Air France flights have been cancelled. The company has said that it expects to operate 45 percent of its flights on Friday and Saturday.
The Chief Executive of Air France, Frederic Gagey, said in a statement:
“I regret that our concrete proposals, designed to reassure our pilots, have to date not received a reasonable response.“
The cost of the strike for Air France is estimated to be around 10-15 million euros ($12.84-19.26 million) a day, which would mean that the company will fall short of its estimated pre-tax profit of 78 million euros.
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