Air France''s main pilots'' union on Sunday ended the longest strike in the carrier''s history to allow "calmer" talks to go ahead over the contentious issue of the airline''s low-cost subsidiary Transavia. A spokesman for the SNPL union, Guillaume Schmid, told AFP the pilots were ending the protest - which has cost Air France more than 200 million euros ($250 million) over the past two weeks - so that the negotiations over Transavia can proceed.
Air France sees Transavia''s development as vital in the struggle to retain market share in the cut-throat medium-haul sector, which is steadily being overrun by no-frills airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair.
But Air France pilots, who earn up to 250,000 euros a year, fear some of their flights will be replaced with services operated by Transavia, or their contracts will be squeezed by the expansion of the subsidiary. The French flag carrier said it expects close to 60 percent of its flights to take off on Monday and it hopes to return to normal over the next two to three days after "mandatory checks" of grounded planes.