Air France pilots extend their week-long-strike

AirFrance Airbus A320-200
AirFrance Airbus A320-200 (© Air France)

The pilots Air France have decided to extend their week-long strike by four days. In a ballot 80 percent have voted for this extension of the labor dispute. So the captains will not fly until friday. The strike could also be extended one more time, the union said on Saturday.

In the last days 65 percent of the pilots participated in the work stoppage. As a result Air France flew only 40 percent of its flight schedule. Meanwhile french government warns the struggeled airline could collapse if the strike actions are going on. Air France said a strike could result in losses of 10 to 15 million euros a day.

Last monday the pilots began a week-long strike against plans to develop low-cost brand Transavia. They fear the management will shift short and medium haul routes (and jobs) to the cheaper subsidiary. Unions says new Transavia pilots should come with the same pay and benefits as those afforded to Air France pilots.

A few days ago Air France unveils new strategic plan „Perform 2020“. As a part a new Transavia will operate a fleet of 100 aircraft in 2017 and carrying more than 20 million passengers. The company faces tough competition from budget airlines for short-haul flights. That’s why it will transfer much of its European operations to low-cost carrier Transavia. Rival Lufthansa Group accelerated their Lowcost brand Germanwings to fight against carriers like Ryanair, Easyjet, Norwegian, Vueling and Wizz Air.

Add a Comment

Deine E-Mail-Adresse wird nicht veröffentlicht. Erforderliche Felder sind mit * markiert

Diese Website verwendet Akismet, um Spam zu reduzieren. Erfahre mehr darüber, wie deine Kommentardaten verarbeitet werden.