SAS Posts Loss

The Scandinavian Airlines System reported a bigger than expected first-quarter pretax loss Tuesday.

But despite continued caution about theoutlook for the year, SAS says it sees signs of returning to the black.

The half state-owned flag carrier of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark posted a pretax loss of 182 million dollars, less than year ago, but slightly more than forecast by analysts.

The airline has been hurt by continuing to rely on business travelers rather than taking on low-cost competitors.