London  - British Airways (BA) warned Monday that it expected to make an operating loss of 150 million pounds (208 million dollars) during the 2008/2009 financial year due to rising costs and the slide in the value of the pound.

BA said that it expected an operating loss of 50 million pounds for the third quarter to December 31, leading to a possible deficit of 150 million pounds for the whole year, ending March 31.

"Further economic weakness in January and the outlook for February and March, combined with the fall in sterling, are impacting our outlook for the year ended 31 March
2009," the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

However, revenue was expected to be up by at least 4 per cent from the previous financial year, BA said, adding that passenger traffic had been "in line with the market."

Fuel costs were expected to be largely unchanged at around 3 billion pounds. That's because lower fuel prices would be cancelled out by the weaker pound, said BA.

It said that non-fuel costs were now expected to rise by 8 per cent, compared with an earlier forecast of 5 per cent. dpa