Air France strike ends

Late yesterday (Sunday 28 September) the Air France pilots' union SNPL called off the two-week strike that was crippling the airline.  Services should return to normal within a couple of days.  On Sunday the French national airline only operated 45% of its scheduled flights.

A union spokesman said it was ending the strike so negotiations could "continue in a calmer climate".

The loss-making airline wants to cut costs to compete with budget carriers.

Although the strike is now over, the two parties failed to resolve their differences during weekend talks.

The airline says the strike is costing it about €20m (£15.6m) a day.

Pilots are angry about Air France's plans to develop its low-cost operation, Transavia, via regional hubs around Europe in order to stem losses and compete with the likes of easyJet and Ryanair.  The airline says it will not now develop this concept,  called Transavia Europe.   www.airfrance.com

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