Air France profit slump
October 29, 2014
Europe's second largest carrier reported Wednesday its third-quarter results had been severely impacted by a pilots' strike between September 15 and 28, the longest in the company's history.
Air France-KLM maintained industrial action had cost the carrier 330 million euros ($420 million) in operating income, with pre-tax earnings standing at 247 million euros in the period under review, marking a fall from the 641 million euros logged a year earlier.
Strike action in September targeted the company's plans to expand operations of its budget subsidiary Transavia abroad as pilots feared the loss of jobs at home.
Untimely strike?
The labor dispute grounded half of the carrier's fleet, sending passenger traffic down by 15.9 percent in September, while cargo operations shrank by 17.7 percent in the same month.
"The strike came at a most inopportune time," Air France-KLM Finance Director Pierre-Francois Riolacci said in a statement. "It came at a time when eurozone economies were failing to emerge from the doldrums.
He said the effects of industrial action might still be felt in the fourth quarter, citing a delay in bookings for the coming months over the carrier's loss of reputation among potential customers.
hg/ng (AFP, Reuters, dpa)