PARIS: Air France's main pilots' union offered to lift its crippling strike late Friday if an independent mediator were named to run negotiations in a bitter battle over the fate of the company's low-cost subsidiary.
The SNPL union, in what it called a "gesture of appeasement", said it was "ready to end the conflict as soon as this mediator is named" by the government.
The French prime minister's office told AFP there were "no grounds for new negotiations with a mediator".
Over half of Air France's planes were grounded for the 12th day running, and the strike was extended until at least Tuesday, after pilots blocked the most recent management proposals to scale back development plans for its low-cost Transavia airline.
The strike at Europe's second-largest flag carrier is costing an estimated 15 million to 20 million euros ($19 million to $25 million) a day.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Friday renewed his call for the "unbearable" strike to end.
Air France's share price has fallen nearly 15 percent since the stoppage began.
"This strike is catastrophic for the French aviation sector," read a joint statement from key industry unions, including those representing travel operators.
"In a more-than-morose economic context, it is compromising a future that is already seriously under threat," read the statement.
Air France's management also rejected the idea of a mediator, and voiced surprise that pilots' representatives had left the negotiating table on Friday while "discussions were going well".
"We aren't far from a solution," said spokesman Eric Schramm.
He stressed however that the company was in an "extremely delicate" situation, losing 20 million euros each day of the strike.
The protracted strike, and fruitless negotiations, have also prompted anger among aviation staff grounded alongside their planes, around 200 of whom protested against the stoppage on Friday.
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