Britain's First Choice Holidays said today its first-half loss widened to £82.5 million.
First Choice said it expected margins at it core Mainstream package holiday business to continue to suffer as a result of increased taxes on holidaymakers and the higher cost of fuelling its planes.
The firm said it would raise its interim dividend by 11 per cent to 2.5 pence per share and said that trading in the last six weeks was in line with its expectations.
Earlier this month the European Commission conditionally approved the firm's plans to tie up with Germany's TUI. The two firms have said they plan to create TUI Travel, a London-based tourism giant 51 per cent owned by TUI.