Scandinavian airline SAS posted a first-quarter pre-tax loss in line with expectations on Tuesday and said it was hard to see when a recovery in the global airline industry would come.

SAS, half-owned by Sweden, Norway and Denmark, made a pre-tax loss of SEK1.02 billion Swedish kronor (USD$124.4 million) in the first quarter against an SEK875 million loss in the same period a year earlier.

"The market is extremely unpredictable and uncertainty regarding the time of a recovery commencing remains high," chief executive Mats Jansson said in a statement.

World airlines are set to lose USD$4.7 billion this year as a result of the global recession that has shrunk passenger and cargo demand, industry body The International Air Transport Association said last month.

SAS is cutting costs and focusing on core operations to ride out the storm. But it has had problems for years with high costs and inefficient operations in addition to fighting competition from no-frills rivals and recently soaring fuel costs.

SAS was forced to raise SEK6 billion kronor from investors earlier this year to cover its restructuring plans.

Jansson said the latest cost cutting plan "Core SAS" was on track.

SAS's result rounded off a gloomy day for Nordic flyers. Earlier in the day, Finland's Finnair said it would post a full-year loss due to weak demand and low ticket prices.