Stockholm - The SAS Group, the operator of the joint carrier Scandinavian Airlines, reported a second-quarter pre-tax loss over record high fuel costs and overcapacity, the group said Thursday as it announced new belt-tightening measures.

The SAS Group posted a second-quarter pre-tax loss of 106 million kronor (16.8 million dollars) compared to a pre-tax profit of 762 million kronor in the corresponding business period of 2007.

Second-quarter sales were 17.7 billion kronor, up 8.7 per cent on the corresponding business period 2007.

SAS Chief Executive Mats Jansson said management would expand its recent cost-cutting programme, dubbed Profit 2008, by reducing its aircraft capacity by 33 planes for the whole group and slashing some 2,500 jobs, an increase of 500 jobs compared to earlier announcements.

At the end of the quarter, the SAS Group had 25,683 employees.

The programme was launched in April and, with the new measures worth 400 million kronor, was estimated to generate savings of 1.5 billion kronor in 2008, SAS said.

Meanwhile, SAS continued with its earlier cost-cutting programme launched a year ago aimed at reducing costs by 2.8 billion kronor by 2009 and had achieved 59 per cent of the programme at the end of the quarter.

The SAS Group flew 11.6 million passengers during the quarter, an increase of 5 per cent on the corresponding business period of the previous year.

The governments of Norway, Sweden and Denmark own a 50-per-cent stake in SAS, while private shareholders hold the rest. (dpa)