Air France puts cost of pilots strike at 500m euros

[PARIS] Air France put the total cost of last month's two-week pilots strike at 500 million euros (US$632 million) on Wednesday, wiping more than a fifth off its parent group's estimated full-year core profit.

Air France-KLM, Europe's second-biggest network carrier by revenue, had already revised down its target for 2014 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in July from 2.5 billion euros to between 2.2 and 2.3 billion.

At the time, it mainly cited overcapacity on long-haul routes and weak cargo demand. The strike has added to its woes.