Spinetta said Air France-KLM was ready to invest in a restructured Alitalia, but only if "it has the certainty that the investment will be profitable in a reasonable period of time".

Air France-KLM abandoned a takeover of Alitalia earlier this year amid union opposition and criticism on the campaign trail from Silvio Berlusconi, who became prime minister in the subsequent election.

Since taking office in May, billionaire media mogul Berlusconi has rallied a group of Italian investors to buy the bankrupt Italian flag carrier's profitable assets.

The government-sponsored rescue effort, which still needs union approval, aims to relaunch Alitaila as a smaller, leaner airline.

(Editing by Will Waterman) Keywords: ALITALIA AIRFRANCE/

tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com ak

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

MMMM

Air France added that it could not rule out further last-minute flight cancellations.

"Air France is expecting very significant disruptions to its activities and apologises to all passengers for this situation, which it strongly deplores," the airline said in the statement.

The strike started at 2300 GMT on Thursday and is due to last until midnight local time on Monday and will likely cost the airline 100 million euros ($124.9 million), Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta said on Thursday.

Calling the protest over the retirement age "useless and dangerous", Spinetta said in an open letter to unions the strike could worsen the impact of an industry-wide crisis.

Air France is the French flag carrier network operated by Franco-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM.

Transport officials have warned of severe disruption at French airports over the weekend due to the strike, called by some unions over plans to increase the retirement age to 65.

Spinetta said the extension would be optional and pilots would still be able to retire at 60 if they wished.

He said European safety authority EASA would in any case soon increase the maximum pilot retirement age to 65 and that France would have to fall in line with this measure.

(Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=.8006 Euro) Keywords: AIRFRANCE/STRIKE

(james.regan@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 53 84; Reuters Messaging: james.regan.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

MMMM

Air France is the French flag carrier network operated by Franco-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM.

Transport officials have warned of severe disruption at French airports over the weekend due to the strike, called by some unions over plans to increase the retirement age to 65.

Spinetta said the extension would be optional and pilots would still be able to retire at 60 if they wished.

He said European safety authority EASA would in any case soon increase the maximum pilot retirement age to 65 and France would have to fall in line with this measure.

The strike comes as Air France-KLM reaches the closing stages of a contest with Germany's rival Lufthansa to clinch a partnership with Alitalia, one of Europe's most strike-prone airlines which is emerging from bankruptcy.

Air France-KLM declined to comment on a report in Italian newspaper MF that it was poised to win the deal, allowing it a minority stake in an Italian consortium which plans to take over profitable parts of Alitalia and merge them with rival Air One.

Protests by Alitalia employees over the takeover stretched into a fourth day on Thursday, cancelling more than 20 flights and prompting authorities to order workers to end disruptions.

(Reporting by Thierry Leveque; editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Keywords: AIRFRANCE/

(paris.equities@reuters.com; +33 1 4949 5452; Reuters Messaging: tim.hepher.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

MMMM

This means that travelers can meet online before they travel to arrange to share a taxi, for example, or to meet up in a lounge. The site is available in French, English and Dutch, and is free of charge.

The Bluenity social network site was designed in partnership with Tripnity. The information and public exchanges available are moderated by a specialized company.

Patrick Roux, senior vice president of marketing at Air France-KLM, said: "The reservation system operated by Air France and KLM is now on a par with the technology and functionalities offered by the web community. This is a response to those customers who would like to be proactive on their trip, whether they are traveling for professional or leisure purposes."

http://www.datamonitor.com

Republication or redistribution, including by framing or similar means,
is expressly prohibited without prior written consent. Datamonitor shall 
not be liable for errors or delays in the content, or for any actions 
taken in reliance thereon