By Reuters - May 06,2018 - Last updated at May 06,2018

An Air France Airbus A319-111 airplane prepares to land at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy, near Paris, France, on April 28 (Reuters file photo)

PARIS — Air France must become more competitive or it risks being further outpaced by rivals, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday, piling pressure on unions and the carrier's management to resolve a stand-off over pay. "If Air France does not make efforts to become more competitive, allowing this flagship to be at the same level at Lufthansa and other airline companies, Air France will disappear," Le Maire told BFM television. The news agency notes the company “has already cost the company more than 300 million euros ($360 million) in a matter of weeks.”

That turmoil – and questions about Air France’s management and survival strategy – sent the airline’s share price down by 13% in early Monday trading, though that had moderated to a 9.7% decline by early afternoon Paris time. Despite the strike, the airline insisted that it would be able to maintain 99% of long-haul flights on Monday, 80% of medium-haul services and 87% of short-haul flights. On Friday, the broader company of Air France-KLM was rocked by the abrupt resignation of CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac after workers at the Air France unit rejected the company's latest wage proposal. On Friday, Jean-Marc Janaillac, chief executive of parent company Air France-KLM, resigned after staff rejected a final pay offer from him, which would have raised wages by 7% over four years. The French government has a 14 percent stake in Air France-KLM, in turmoil after its CEO said on Friday he was stepping down when staff rejected a pay deal, but Le Maire said the state was not there to bail out the carrier.
French economy minister Bruno Le Maire says Air France may collapse over ongoing strike action and the state will not bail the firm out despite owning 14.3% of parent Air France-KLM.