Air France May Cut Long-Haul If Pilots Resist Changes

Air France is threatening to cut 10 percent of its long-haul network by 2017 unless pilots accept cost-cutting changes to their work conditions.

The airline has a target to make 80 percent of its long-haul routes profitable, up from only half currently.

The cuts to the network could involve at least 10 aircraft, union sources told Reuters after a meeting with managers who did not say how many jobs might be affected.

A person close to the company said that most of the planned cuts would come from increasing the working time of crews without raising their salaries.

Drawing inspiration from Lufthansa, the company may also operate a small number of long-haul routes on a low-cost basis.

The company said in June that it would end four loss-making routes, including Kuala Lumpur and three destinations in Europe, and reduce frequencies or capacity on other routes to Japan, Brazil and Russia.