He told Reuters Television that the airline, the UK's second largest scheduled carrier, made profits of 120 million pounds ($180.9 million) last year. However, he expected profits to fall by over 50 percent this year.

"I hope that we will be back up at the previous year's levels again next year," he said. "I think it's possible because people just can't get a seat on our planes at the moment," he added.

"The only downside is that fuel prices are higher than they were during the Gulf War and I have got gut feeling that they may stay quite high for some time to come." Branson denied speculation that Singapore Airlines was calling the shots at Virgin, after completing the purchase of a 49 per cent stake in April. "Effectively we are in control," he insisted. Branson said he planned to meet British Airways Plc's new head Rod Eddington to rebuild relations between the two companies, after a decade-long feud over alleged business malpractices.

"My attitude is that one should be friends in the evening with one's competitors but one should compete ferociously in the daytime. We are going to meet with the hope that we will have a more gentlemanly relationship than we've had with the previous incumbents, he said."

However, Branson doubted they would discuss their differences over an "open skies" agreement that would give US and UK airlines greater access to each other's airports.

"If there was a deal we would fight tooth and nail with the authorities to stop it," he said. Opening up Heathrow would give BA and its partner American Airlines 70 percent of peak take-off and landing slots at the airport, he said.