Greece's Aegean Airlines widens first quarter loss, sales rise

Aegean Airlines widened its loss in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period a year earlier as sales grew 7.0 percent, Greece's largest carrier said on Thursday.

The company reported a net loss of 21.5 million euros (16.8 million pounds) in the first three months of the year versus a loss of 8.3 million in the same period last year.

Domestic passenger traffic grew 6 percent in January-to-March to 1.05 million passengers and by 9 percent on flights abroad, it said.

"We concluded the delivery of new aircraft and started the year with a significantly larger fleet. As we grow and domestic demand remains weak in the winter we will depend more on how the summer season fares," Aegean's Chief Executive Dimitris Gerogiannis said in a statement.