The chief executive of Air France-KLM has admitted the last round of strike action that resulted in two executives being attacked by union members was 'catastrophic' for its image.
Speaking at the ACTE conference in Paris, Alexandre de Juniac said these types of actions will not be accepted and those involved will face criminal charges.
Despite the images of assistant HR director Xavier Broseta having his shirt ripped from his back and being escorted over a fence by security to escape angry employees, de Juniac said the airline has not been hit financially and remains on track to complete a turnaround programme. It comes months after the airline said it would axe loss-making routes, trim capacity and accelerate cost-cutting measures after it posted losses of €79 million, compared to a €14 million deficit a year earlier.
"We are turning round Air France-KLM," said de Juniac. "We were facing huge losses but in two years we will be among the top guys for financial performance. Discussions with unions are always bumpy and that's not just for us, other airlines such as Lufthansa have had similar problems and they will always be like that when you are trying to put in difficult reforms."
In a 45-minute interview, which covered topics from Air France's financial performance to technological innovations, he spoke about the need to keep innovating the airline’s business class model, which he said is at "the heart of Air France".
De Juniac said the airline was looking to add wifi to its aircraft, but the financial costs must also be taken into consideration when rolling this out.
"The investment of wifi on planes is huge for us as it will cost around $500,000 per aircraft... and it makes it more costly because to make money on this is impossible as travellers are so used to getting it free everywhere they go."
De Juniac added that innovation in the way airlines market their products would become the big trend in aviation over the next few years.