Monday, September 22, 2014

Air France strikers reject offer to end dispute

President of the pilots's union SNPL, Jean-Louis Barber
Air France pilots are protesting over the carrier's expansion of its low-cost business

Striking Air France pilots have rejected an offer by the airline aimed at resolving the dispute.
Their SNPL union said a proposed suspension of plans to develop the airline's budget carrier, Transavia, was a "smokescreen" that offered no more guarantees than previous offers.
Air France boss Alexandre de Juniac had said the planned expansion would be frozen until the end of the year.
The eight-day-old strike is the airline's longest since 1998.
It has been costing the firm 15m euros (£11.8m; $19.3m) a day.
Mr de Juniac said the aim of the freeze was to allow time for "a thorough dialogue".
He told Le Monde newspaper the strike was "disastrous" for the airline.
But he added: "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."
'Obligatory move'
On Sunday, France's Transport Minister Alain Vidalies said the fate of Air France was "at stake" in the dispute.
Pilots are protesting over the firm's plan to expand Transavia because they fear it will drive down their wages.
"There must be a positive approach in this situation, otherwise I think that it's the fate of the company that could be at stake," Mr Vidalies told France Info radio.
"The low-cost [sector] is not a choice, it's an obligatory move, that's reality. I think pilots are fully aware of this," he said.
Air France said it expected to operate 41% of its flights on Monday.
On Sunday, the SNPL called on the French government to intervene and help resolve the dispute.
"Talks have reached a complete impasse," the union said in a statement. "Management is playing for time, waiting for the movement to weaken."

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