Berlin - Air Berlin plc Thursday posted a reduced loss in the first half of the year on increased turnover and higher passenger numbers.

The loss before interest and tax (EBIT) at Germany's second- largest airline after Lufthansa came in at 53.9 million euros (80 million dollars), from a loss of 66.3 million euros in the first half last year.

The net loss at the airline, with its subsidiaries LTU and Belair, was 50.8 million euros, compared with red-ink of 60.4 million in 2007.

The company's share rose almost 4 per cent on the news to trade at around 4.00 euros at mid-morning.

"In light of the trying times that the airline sector is currently experiencing as a result of the tremendous increase in fuel costs, we are pleased with our results for the first half of the year," Air Berlin chief executive Joachim Hunold said in Berlin.

The company's "broad-based business model" was well-positioned to overcome the challenges, he said.

Air Berlin said it would save 35 million euros by the end of the year through its "optimization programme" introduced in June.

It carried 13.5 million passengers in the first six months, up from 12.7 million in 2007, although available seat-kilometres fell 2.5 per cent to 26.9 billion.

Capacity utilization of the 128-plane fleet increased to 77 per cent from 74 per cent. Consolidated turnover rose to 1.53 billion euros from 1.45 billion. (dpa)