Air France employees and pilots strike is in its second month.

Air France-KLM boss Jean-Marc Janaillac announced his resignation Friday after staff at the carrier´s French operations rejected a pay deal aimed at ending months of walkouts.The unexpected announcement came as a  shock to the business and industrial community in France.

The French media have likened  Air France to "an aircraft without a pilot".

Unions in France said pay rise of seven percent over four years was too little after six years of pay freezes and demanded a 5.1 percent raise this year instead.

Staff and management at the carrier have been locked in a dispute over pay since February.

Janaillac said,"I accept the consequences of this vote and will tender my resignation to the boards of Air France and Air France-KLM in coming days," said Janaillac after 55.44 percent of Air France workers voted against accepting a pay rise of seven percent over four years.

The announcement of Janaillac 's departure came as Air France-KLM released its first-quarter earnings, which showed a net loss of 269 million euros ($322 million), weighed down by three days of strikes which cost about 25 million euros per day according to the company.

The group warned the dispute would shave at least 300 million euros off its operating profit for the full year, pulling earnings "notably below" last year´s 1.9 billion euros.

Janaillac had been gambling on the strikers´ resolve wavering, with just 21.5 percent of pilots participating in Friday´s walkout, compared with 33 percent when the stoppages began in February.

Air France, once the most profitable European company, is now not able to continue with artificial respiration.

Support for the French airline to decline.

The latest poll shows the lowest level of support since the launch of the strike polls in March.

Unions have accused French president, Emmanuel Macron of prolonging the crisis in Air France.