sky

Air France details strike cancellations

Air France is hoping to maintain more than 87% of flights July 27, when its cabin crew is set to begin a walkout that is expected to last until Aug 2. Two of Air France’s three cabin crew unions—SNPNC-FO and UNSA-PNC—are staging the action over a new collective agreement for the period Nov 2016 to March 2018. Air France said it planned to operate 92% of its long-haul flights, 90% of its domestic services and more than 80% of its medium-haul network to and from Paris-CDG July 27. This is based on 37% of its cabin crew participating in the action. However, the carrier warned there may be last-minute cancellations and delays. Passenger numbers could also be limited on some services. Flights operated by regional airline HOP!, Dutch sister carrier KLM and leisure subsidiary Transavia will not be affected. <br/>

Kenya Airways mulls debt-to-equity deals to ease pain

Kenya Airways is considering debt-to-equity deals as one of the possible solutions to its ongoing financial woes. The revelation comes as the struggling carrier's financial standing worsened last week after it reported its fourth straight annual loss. For the year ending March 31, 2016, Kenya Airways posted a net loss of US$262m which it blamed on a strengthening US dollar, increased borrowing costs as well as fuel hedge losses. In all, it’s state of negative equity has now worsened to $357m. Despite the negative news, The EastAfrican newspaper says treasury cabinet secretary Henry Rotich revealed last week that private equity investors had shown an interest in investing in the airline. It is within this context that a debt-to-equity scheme would also be considered, the paper said referencing informed sources. <br/>