Greece's largest private airline, Aegean Airlines, reported Wednesday a first-quarter net profit of EUR4.6 million euros (USD$6.41 million), citing cost cuts and a drop in fuel prices.

The company posted a EUR4.4 million loss in the same period last year.

This year's first quarter was helped by a 13 percent rise in revenues to EUR111.3 million, and increased passenger traffic, especially on its international network, the company said in a statement.

Aegean carried 1.2 million passengers in the first three months of the year, up 9 percent from the same period in 2008. Passengers on its domestic flights rose 4 percent in the first quarter and 20 percent on international routes.

Aegean said it expected a decline in demand in international markets to affect full-year revenues but that it was sticking to its business plan and taking measures to maintain its financial position.

"We remain cautious as to the impact of the current economic crisis and the evident decline in demand and yield pressure, especially in international markets, which will inevitably affect our revenue performance for the full year," Managing Director Dimitris Gerogiannis said in the statement.

The company said earlier this week that it will join the Star Alliance.

The move would give Aegean, which became Greece's largest airline by passenger numbers last year, access to many markets across the globe with large communities of Greek descendants, the company said.

Aegean has been renewing its fleet since going public in 2007. Its shares have gained 23.7 percent since the start of the year, underperforming the broader Greek market's 25 percent advance.