View source for Stung By Pandemic Greek Carrier Aegean Widens Q1 Loss

<br>ATHENS,  [http://travelbuyers.over-blog.com/2020/02/itinerary-of-rajasthan-your-first-step-to-travel-in-india.html travelbuyers.over-blog.com] June 25 (Reuters) - Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlines more than doubled its loss in the first quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, hurt by the grounding of planes as part of restrictions to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.<br> <br>Aegean, a member of the Star Alliance airline group, on Thursday reported a net loss of 85.4 million euros ($95.85 million) versus a loss of 35.2 million in the first quarter of 2019.<br><br>Sales fell 15% year-on-year to 147 million euros.<br> <br>The airline flew 2.1 million passengers, 15% fewer than in the same period a year earlier, as flights were reduced by 6%, it said.<br> <br>The impact from the grounding of flights came entirely in March.<br>Last month, Aegean's chairman said he expects 2020 to be the worst year in its 21-year history.<br> <br>The first quarter's results were also weighed down by a 38.7 million euros charge related to fuel-cost hedging.<br> <br>"In June, after the partial lifting of transport restrictions in Greece and abroad, we began the gradual resumption of flight operations with a slow recovery in sales," CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis said.<br> <br>"Surely, the coming months look difficult amidst uncertainty. Our business plan is directly affected by epidemiological developments," he said.<br> <br>Aegean has said it will ask the country's big banks for 150 million euros of loans, under the COVID-19 Enterprise Guarantee Fund, to deal with hardships related to the pandemic.<br><br>(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos Editing by Nick Zieminski)<br>