Air France puts cost of pilots strike at €500m

Air France has estimated that last month's strike will cost it about €500m (£393m) in lost revenue.

The struggling French flag carrier was in dispute with pilots over plans to expand its budget subsidiary Transavia.

Finance director Pierre-Francois Riolacci said there would be an immediate impact of about 320-350m euros, plus loss of future business.

Shares in Europe's second-biggest airline fell 2.53% on Wednesday following the announcement.

The company has already cut its profit target for 2014.

Air France said that total passenger traffic fell

Air France insists budget airline must be low cost

Air France has said it will go ahead with plans to develop its low cost airline within France despite objections from striking pilots.

Conditions at the budget operator are the main sticking point between management and Air France pilots.

Talks on Thursday failed to find a resolution to the 12 day old strike.

Air France said demands that pilots at the new operation receive the same pay and conditions as at Air France were incompatible with the low-cost model.

The pilots are demanding that the same contract be offered to all pilots across Air-France KLM's subsidiaries.

No single contract

Air France originally hoped to develop its low cost operation, Transavia, via regional hubs around Europe. But

Air France resumes talks with pilots' union SNPL

Air France and pilots' union SNPL have resumed talks in the hope of resolving the 11-day strike that is costing the airline up to 15m euros (£11.8m) a day.

The two parties are discussing a counter-offer made by the union following the airline's proposal to scrap plans to expand its Transavia low-cost airline in Europe.

These plans sparked concerns among pilots over pay and job security.

The resulting strike is affecting almost half of all Air France flights.

On Wednesday evening, Air France offered to

Air France offers to scrap low-cost Transavia expansion plan

Air France has offered to scrap plans to expand its Transavia low-cost airline in Europe, in return for pilots returning to work immediately.

In a statement, it said the proposal would help "find an immediate outcome to this destructive conflict".

The company also offered "a renewed guarantee that there will be no relocation" of jobs.

Pilots have been on strike for 10 days and have grounded about half of the airline's flights.

They are unhappy at the lower rates of pay offered by the expanding budget operation compared with core Air France services, threatening to strike indefinitely unless the European expansion is scrapped.

The strike has been costing the airline up to 15m euros (£11.8m) a day.

Air France said it would instead develop its Transavia France project.

"Our Transavia project is a

Striking Air France pilots reject offer to end dispute

Air France pilots say they will pursue their strike indefinitely, rejecting the airline's offer to attempt to resolve the dispute.

Air France offered to suspend plans to expand its budget carrier Transavia.

But the pilots' SNPL union described that move as a "smokescreen" that offered no more guarantees than previous offers.

Air France's chief executive Alexandre de Juniac warned the strike could have "catastrophic consequences".

The eight-day-old strike is the airline's longest since 1998 and has been costing 15m euros (£11.8m; $19.3m) a day.

Jean-Louis Barber, head of the Air France section of the SNPL union said: "As long as management does not change its philosophy and as long as Air France management will not conduct real talks in a