Air France drops plans for forming subsidiary for maintenance arm

PARIS (Reuters) - Air France has abandoned plans to study forming a subsidiary unit for its maintenance arm, its chief executive told trade unions in a letter. Maintenance is one of the most profitable business units for the Franco-Dutch airline group, whose French passenger operations have been engulfed by strikes and restructuring. Air France-KLM's maintenance division, second in the market behind Lufthansa , accounts for only 15 percent of group sales but 26 percent of its operating profit. (Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Leigh Thomas)