FYI, AF is back to profit. They just want more, and they want AF pilots to pay for last year's strike, hence voluntary departure schemes for everybody except them being shown the door.
Well, yes and no.
AF aren't really profitable. Although AF eked out a profit last
quarter, they're still down for the
year, and are currently forecast to end this year (FY2015) in negative territory.
What's worrisome for AF is that their total loss this year (to date) is actually even worse than last year, while their total cost keeps on increasing. They are currently at a net
loss of €232 million for the year compared to last year's loss of €207m over the same time period.
So their operating result is down 25% but employee costs alone is increasing at around 1% (and other unit costs are increasing as well), on a like-for-like comparison.
The only good news was oil prices. But all the savings AF received from lower oil prices were offset by the strong Dollar and declining revenue. Plus they have a large amount of debt they are trying to bring down (currently at €4.5 billion).
I believe they were trying to achieve a 1% cost reduction this year before talks broke down.
Their long-haul business model is in a very difficult position. They are losing money on a lot of routes, which obviously is not sustainable.