The ongoing pay dispute at Air France is certainly taking its toll on profits.
According to the Air France – KLM group, each strike day has been estimated to cost the airline between €25 and €30 million, with the three-day strike in February and March costing the company a total of €75 million.
“It is unfortunate that we cannot benefit from this period, which is rather a favourable period in terms of demand,” said the group's CFO Frédéric Gagey.
The results arrived on the eve of the 13th day of strike action which is taking place on Friday, with further strikes scheduled for May 7th and 8th as staff continue to fight for better pay.
Company heads are currently trying to put an end to the dispute by launching an internal consultation with employees, asking them directly whether they would be willing to accept the deal proposed on April 16th which was rejected by unions.
The offer plans for a general wage increase of 7 percent over four years from 2018 to 2021 in addition to the individual increases of around 1 percent in 2018.
However unions are demanding an immediate wage increase of 5.1 percent.
And even if the consultation with staff goes well, the conflict will not be resolved with the agreement needing the endorsement of the union majority.
“For us, this consultation does not change anything,” Philippe Evain, president of the SNPL union told the French press.
“In 2017, the group's financial results were the best in its history.”
Meanwhile, the embattled CEO of Air France-KLM, Jean-Marc Janaillac, has threatened to resign if Air France staff continued to reject his wage proposals.
During Friday's industrial action, 75 percent of flights were operating, according to Air France.
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Photo: AFP
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