Feb 25 (Reuters) - Air New Zealand Ltd on Thursday posted a first-half pretax loss of NZ$185 million ($136.97 million) due to a sharp fall in travel associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

The loss before tax and exceptional items in the six months ended Dec. 31, its most closely-watched financial figure, is compared with a NZ$198 million profit a year earlier.

On a statutory basis, it swung to a NZ$104 million loss from a NZ$139 million profit in the prior year. ($1 = 1.3506 New Zealand dollars) (Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru and Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Arun Koyyur)