Air France passengers face days of delay and disruption as the airline’s pilots begin a week-long strike.<br /><br />The company apologised to those hit by the industrial action in a dispute over the transfer of jobs to a low-cost carrier.<br /><br />Catherine Jude is Air France operations director: <br /><br />“On Tuesday September 16 we estimate that we will operate at 40 per cent capacity, with 60 per cent of staff on strike.”<br /><br />Air France’s short haul routes are falling victim to the success of the budget airlines and the company is looking to boost its own no-frills option Transavia Europe.<br /><br />The aviators are furious, Jean-Louis Barber is from the<br />pilot’s union<br /><br />“Air France want to create a new company, Transavia Europe, not under French law, maybe Portuguese. You base the planes in Portugal, for example, so Porto-Paris flights will be flown by lower paid Portuguese pilots, rather than French pilots. This destroys jobs, this is about delocalisation and social dumping, that is why pilots are angry.”<br /><br />Airline strikes directly impact on travellers causing misery and frustration: “I understand there is a strike, they are right to do it, but it’s a shame that it has to involve us,” said one stranded passenger.<br /><br />The spat will be a costly business for Air France with losses expected to run to between 10 to 15 million euros a day.
