Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Half-year loss reported by Lufthansa

Updated at 7:56 pm on 30 July 2010

Europe's biggest airline, Lufthansa, has reported a net loss for the first half of the year due to disruption from the volcanic ash cloud and from a strike by pilots.

The Lufthansa Group reported a loss of 104 million euros ($US136 million), although this was an improvement on the 178 million euro loss it made a year ago. Revenues rose 24% to 12.6 billion euros.

The group also faced costs from the integration of new acquisitions Austrian Airlines and UK carrier BMI.

The loss was largely due to a weak first quarter, as the group said it made an operating profit of 159 million euros in the April-June period.

It added that there was a "noticeable recovery" in first- and business- class bookings.

The BBC reports shares in Lufthansa Group were down 45% in Thursday trading.

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