Air France (AF, Paris CDG) chairman and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, has told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper that Air France-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will press on with its plans to redevelop Transavia Airlines (HV, Amsterdam Schiphol) and Transavia France (TO, Paris Orly) into regional European budget carriers despite a recent pilot strike having cost the company at least EUR500million (USD631.3million) in lost revenue.

De Juniac said in the interview that should a deadlock with its pilots continue, the carrier has a fall-back plan entailing the creation of "Transavia Development" which would develop the low-cost business with new B737-800 aircraft that are scheduled to arrive in the coming months.

The CEO said that among his most urgent concerns are the finalization of an agreement with the pilots, represented by the SNPL and Alter unions, concerning Transavia's future plans. Last month, Air France-KLM said it would indefinitely postpone its Transavia plans in return for its striking pilots calling off their industrial action.

Pilots have strongly objected to management's proposal that would see Air France pilots flying for Transavia albeit on less-generous remuneration schemes. For its part, management says the only way for Air France-KLM to maintain any semblance of competitiveness with the likes of Ryanair (FR, Dublin International), easyJet (London Luton), Vueling Airlines (VY, Barcelona El Prat) and Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) is to reorient its loss-making European medium-haul operations towards the budget market.