Air France unions leading a strike on Wednesday over wage demands agreed to meet management for further negotiations after the airline improved its salary offer. The industrial action by Air France pilots, cabin crew and ground staff has so far cost the airline E170m and contributed to travel disruption in the country at a time rail workers are also protesting against planned reforms. A pilots union official said talks were slated for Thursday and that a notice for future strikes could be withdrawn if a suitable pay offer was forthcoming. Air France raised its 2018 pay offer to the unions late on Tuesday to 2% - double its previous offer but still well below unions’ demands for a 6% increase. Air France said it expected to run 70% of its scheduled flights on Wednesday, the seventh day company staff have walked out. The head of the overall Air France KLM group had earlier denounced the unions’ demands for a 6% pay increase as unrealistic. “The offer made by the management of Air France is both strong and reasonable,” Air France KLM’s CE Jean-Marc Janaillac said Wednesday.<br/>
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Italy's government says it will postpone the deadlines for repayment of a bridge loan to bankrupt national carrier Alitalia while it evaluates offers from three airlines to buy it. The economic development ministry said the government would issue a decree next week to postpone the terms to close the deal and repay the loan, likely until later this year. Italy is in the midst of negotiations to form a new government, and any new deal would be put on hold until it is formed. Italian media say Lufthansa, easyJet and Wizz Air submitted offers by Tuesday's deadline. The development ministry said the offers showed a "real interest" in Alitalia and that one of the three bids "includes concrete steps forward in terms of routes and personnel."<br/>