Air Littoral, one of the troubled French regional airlines once owned by SAirGroup, has found new footing following a hard-fought agreement with employee unions. The deal ended a 48-hour strike that paralyzed the regional airline in September. The unions took strike action over the company’s compensation proposals for employees who stand to lose their jobs in the airline’s planned reorganization. Management threatened to suspend the restructuring plan if the sides could not reach an agreement.
The difficulties began after Marc Dufour, Air Littoral’s chief executive, took over the regional airline from SAirGroup this summer. Before the deal in which Swissair ceded fellow French regionals Air Liberté and AOM to the new Holco consortium, Dufour had served as Air Littoral’s president. Some union representatives attributed the company’s lack of success partly to Dufour, and expressed concern that his management style would lead to a repeat of past failures.
