Emirates denies talks with Virgin Atlantic

Emirates President Tim Clark denied the carrier is involved in talks with Virgin Atlantic Airways after the UK carrier stated it had received a "number of lines of enquiry" from interested parties (Gulf News/Bloomberg/SkyNews/Dow Jones, 16-Dec-2010). Virgin Atlantic, which had hired Deutsche Bank AG to assess growth opportunities and ensure it remains on the aviation landscape, stated it was too early to go into details and it expects Deutsche Bank's work to run "for a number of months". Delta Air Lines is reportedly among one of the interested parties. Virgin Atlantic, which is 49% owned by Singapore Airlines and 51% by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, declined to comment further.

Emirates: "It's nothing to do with us. Virgin must be in a state of limbo at the moment with all the consolidation that's happening in Europe. They must be worried about what's going on there as it's a small player," Tim Clark, CEO. Source: Gulf News/Bloomberg, 16-Dec-2010.