A strike by Air France pilots seeking more pay entered its fourth and final day yesterday, forcing the privatisation candidate to scrap scores of flights, as the threat of more industrial action loomed.
The strike hit Paris hardest, where Air France operates from both Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports. A spokeswoman at Orly said the airport was quiet as most travellers had made alternative plans.
The pilots, who are demanding pay increases to bring their salaries in line with those of colleagues at other carriers, are due to return to work today and have so far failed to meet with management to hammer out a solution.
The second-biggest pilot union, ALTER, said it was planning to announce a further strike after Air France Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta failed to come up with an acceptable solution.
"Given the situation and the context, we plan to announce a new strike," ALTER general secretary Guy Ferrer told Reuters. "There has been no official proposition from Spinetta."
Air France is performing better than many of its rivals a year on from the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, but strikes have hampered its comeback.
They have also cast a shadow over plans by President Jacques Chirac's new centre-right government to abandon the state's majority stake in Air France, kicking off a series of state asset sales aimed at bolstering the country's finances.
Industrial action by air traffic controllers in June paralysed short and medium-haul services for a day, losing the company €18 million and helping pull fiscal first-quarter profit down by 18.5 per cent.
Spinetta has said the pilots' demands are unrealistic, and that a hefty wage hike would have long-term negative effects on the airline.
Air France domestic flights were less affected by the latest action, partly because many pilots on those routes are not Air France employees.
A spokeswoman for the airline said some flights from French regional airports and foreign destinations could still be cancelled this morning as the network gets back to normal.
On Wednesday, just two flights would be cancelled, to Washington and New York, as people avoid travelling on the anniversary of the hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington, she said.
The pilots are the largest private shareholder grouping in the French flag carrier, with eight per cent of its capital, and have demanded a pay rise of between 10 and 12 per cent, following a seven-per cent hike last year.
Newly recruited pilots at Air France earn €60,680 gross in their first year, rising to €123,573 after 10 years. A veteran of 30 years receives €204,435.
Air France shares yesterday fell 2.3 per cent to €11.35, bringing their decline this year to 31 per cent. Shares of peer British Airways Plc were down 2.8 per cent at the same time while Deutsche Lufthansa AG was down 1.3 per cent.