The SNPL union has rejected an offer from Air France’s management to end the week-long strike that is estimated to be costing the airline €10 - €15 million a day.
The union said the proposed offer from Air France, to suspend its roll-out of its low-cost subsidiary Transavia, was a "smoke screen" that offered no new guarantees and did not resolve any of the disputes involved.
Earlier today, the airline’s CEO Alexandre de Juniac told Le Monde the move will allow more time for the airline to sit down with union officials and come to an agreement.
"We are proposing to suspend until the end of the year the project to create Transavia units in Europe outside France and the Netherlands. That will create time to carry out a thorough dialogue on the plan and to formulate the necessary guarantees with unions," he said.
"This arrangement must not call into question our ambition to develop Transavia, which is one of the key sources of growth for the Air France-KLM group,” he added.
De Juniac said the offer was a “final proposal”.
Pilots are striking after Air France announced it is aiming to transfer most of its short and medium-haul services to Transavia. 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.
The SNPL union last night voted to extend the strike to September 26. Air France said it expects to operate 41 per cent of its flight today (September 22), with an estimated 65 per cent of pilots planning to strike.
The airline is urging passengers with a flight reservation between September 22 and 26 to postpone their trip or change their ticket “at no extra cost”.
AirFrance.com