Air France has warned that disruption from a seven-day pilots strike will get worse as the walkout enters its second day.
The airline said it expects to operate only 40 per cent of scheduled flights on Wednesday (September 17) as an estimated 60 per cent of pilots strike – this is down from the 48 per cent of scheduled flights that operated on the first day of strike action.
The airline is urging passengers with a flight reservation between September 16 and 22 to postpone their trip or change their ticket “at no extra cost”.
Air France said that talks with unions to end the strike were “permanent and ongoing”. But added: “We prefer to be realistic rather than optimistic. For the moment, we are organising our flights on a day-to-day basis.”
Air France’s CEO Frederic Gagey has told France Inter radio that the strike action could end up costing the airline €10 million to €15 million a day.
Pilots are striking after Air France announced it is aiming to transfer most of its short and medium-haul services to Transavia – its low-cost subsidiary. A move unions claim will affect working and pay conditions.
Air France has said it would consider negotiating benefits based on seniority of pilots who agree to work for its low-cost airline.
However, it would not agree to demands that the contracts of Transavia pilots carry the same terms as those flying under Air France.
Pilots are currently paid less at Transavia than at Air France’s mainline business.
“Air France regrets this situation and is making every effort to minimize the inconvenience this may cause to its customers,” the airline said in a statement.
“Since last week, close to 900,000 texts and messages have been sent to inform customers due to travel between 15 and 22 September, individually and in real time.”
AirFrance.com