UPDATE 1-Planned Air France cabin crew strike delayed

(Releads with cabin staff strike delayed)

PARIS, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Cabin staff at Air France voted on Saturday to delay a strike planned for next week over measures that would allow them to work until 65 and which unions fear may open the way to pushing back the retirement age of flight crew.

The four-day strike, originally planned to begin on Tuesday, will now be delayed until Dec. 5-9, the eight unions that called the strike said in a statement.

The lower house of parliament voted late on Friday to allow cabin staff and pilots to work until 65 but it included an amendment that would allow cabin crew to retire at 55, as at present, if employers did not offer them jobs as ground staff.

The law still requires the approval of the Senate, which votes in mid-November, to pass into law and union representatives said they hoped to be allowed to retain the unconditional right to retire at 55.

"We're hoping to keep up the pressure on the Senators to get satisfaction from them," Martial Barbara, a spokesman for the SUD union said.

The eight unions representing cabin staff at national carrier Air France (AIRF.PA) last week announced a strike beginning on Tuesday to protest the measure, despite assurances from the government that it would not be compulsory.

The current retirement age for pilots is 60, while airline cabin staff retire at 55. Before the new measure can come into force it must pass the upper house of parliament, the Senate but unions say wider negotiation is needed.

"These are jobs that require a lot of concentration and a physical aptitude," Gilles Nicoli, secretary general of CFDT-Air France told France Info radio on Saturday. "In Europe, you're a bus driver until 60 and then you can't do it any more."

"It can only be done through a real negotiation and not just by charging through. I think the deputies have put the cart before the horse," he said.

Labour Minister Xavier Bertrand, who said last week he hoped a strike could be avoided, is due to meet unions next week to discuss the dispute, which comes as Air France, like other airlines, faces slowing demand as the economic crisis bites.

France's main pilots' union SNPL-Alpha, which represents 80 percent of Air France pilots, has also voted to stage a four-day strike from Nov 14, immediately after the measure is due to be voted on in the Senate.

The text of the law sets the upper age limit for pilots on commercial transport flights at 65, as long as one of the two pilots in an aircraft is under 60. (Reporting by Emile Picy; writing by James Mackenzie; editing by Chris Pizzey)