Air France Drops More Than Half of Flights During Strike
19 Sep 2014 01:03:49
bloomberg.com
Air France (AF) canceled more than half its flights for a third consecutive day because of a strike by pilots that the airline says will be its most disruptive labor dispute since 1998.
The carrier will operate 42 percent of scheduled flights today, the French unit of Air France-KLM Group said in a statement. Passengers whose flights are scrapped will be reimbursed, and customers with seats reserved between now and Sept. 22, the scheduled final day of the walkout, will have the right to rebook free of charge.
Pilots are halting work to protest Air France's expansion of low-cost operations with flight crews paid less than at the main carrier. The strike threatens to undermine efforts by Air France executives to bring spending into line with discount rivals such as EasyJet Plc (EZJ), now the country's second-biggest airline, and Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA), which has bought higher-capacity aircraft that will help cut fares.
The French public doesn't understand the reasons for the strike and pilots should go back to work, Emmanuel Macron, the country's new economy minister, said earlier today on domestic radio station Europe1.
Read full story: bloomberg.com
