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Air France plans to operate almost 85% of its flights May 3, the latest in a series of strikes its unions are holding over pay as employees have their say over the airline’s pay proposal in a company-wide consultation. The airline said 78% of its long-haul flights would go ahead, along with more than 80% of its medium-haul flights to and from its Charles de Gaulle hub also operating. Close to 90% of its short-haul flights would also operate, the company said. That is based on an estimate of 18.8% of pilots, 18% of cabin crew and 10% of ground staff taking part in the strike, a smaller proportion than in previous walkouts. More day-long strikes are planned for May 4, 7 and 8, bringing the total number of days of strike action to 15 in recent weeks. <br/>

Italy has formally pushed back the deadline for selecting a buyer for Alitalia by 6 months to Oct 31, with the repayment of a controversial govt bridge loan that is keeping it flying now set for Dec 15. A govt decree setting out another delay in the already long-running process of deciding Alitalia’s future comes amid political uncertainty in Italy. Talks to form a govt continue almost 2 months after a general election that failed to return a majority. The EC, meanwhile, said in April it had opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Italy's E900m (US$1.1b) bridge loan to Alitalia constituted state aid and whether it complied with its rules for aid to companies in difficulty. Lufthansa, is considered the frontrunner among potential bidders, but has said it would only be interested in a heavily restructured Alitalia. <br/>