Air France pilots have voted to extend their week-long strike over plans to expand low-cost operations abroad.<br /><br />Of three-quarters of pilots from the SNPL union who cast their ballot, more than 80 percent agreed to continue industrial action beyond Monday’s deadline, according to Jean-Louis Barber, head of the union’s Air France section.<br /><br />Only 38 percent of flights are expected to be assured on Sunday, the lowest proportion since the strike began. Saturday has seen 45 percent of flights confirmed.<br /><br />Pilots are protesting against plans by Air France to fight competition from low-budget carriers and boost earnings by setting up foreign bases for its low-cost Transavia brand.<br /><br />The main pilots’ union fears the airline may abandon Transavia’s development in France altogether and move jobs out of the country.<br /><br />Air France has condemned the move to continue the strike, insisting neither the airline nor its staff will be harmed by its plans.<br /><br />It says the strike is costing the company 10-15 million euros a day.<br /><br />Air France adds that flights operated by other airlines, including HOP, KLM and Delta, are not affected by the strike.
