Air France says 7 days of strikes cost company 170 mn euros

Air France said today that seven day-long strikes since February by workers demanding higher pay are set to cost it 170 million euros ($209 million).

"The impact on Air France's operating profit of seven days of strikes between February 22 and April 11 is estimated at 170 million euros," the group said as workers were to stay away again Tuesday and Wednesday, for a total of seven days since the series began in February. The estimate was contained a statement on the passenger numbers of Air France-KLM, which said they had increased by 5.4 per cent in March.