virgin atlantic survived because we offer the best quality product across the atlantic. but to be perfectly honest, key not guarantee virgin atlantic's survival if, if ba and aa are allowed to merge. it'll be, you know, like competing with our hands tied behind our back, our legs, you know, bound up. and it'll be, it'll be very, very difficult. >> tell us about your plans to operate the newest wide-bodied jet liner, the airbus a380. what markets will the 380 serve, will this aircraft be a formidable competitor to the ba and american airlines fleet? >> well, we will operate the a-380 on the longer routes, so routes like tokyo, hong kong, australia, los angeles. new york. and it's a great plane. we're actually at the moment talking to airbus to try to persuade them to lengthen it because i think the economics of the plane will be astoundingly good if they can have a double-decker, double-decker. thank you. >> one of our members of the audience says he avoids heathrow because of high taxes and fees and congestion and suggests that why not move virgin's hub to another nearby

a year later he set another record crossing the atlantic in his virgin atlantic flyer. not only the first hot air balloon to cross the atlantic, but also the largest ever at 2.3 million cubic feet. clearly, this is a man who likes challenge, whether it's in business or in sport. and while many would be satisfied after being knighted by the queen of england for services to entrepreneurship, he has not. sir richard branson, founder of a pint sized record business in 1970 now rules an empire that rivals the gross domestic product of many small countries. whether it is virgin cola, investing in alternative green technologies, space tourism, or running one of the hippest airlines in the sky, he has been. and although the european press has skewered him for having lost and i worked water and 1.5 billion pounds in the last year or 171,000 british pounds an hour, he continues to be optimistic. who in this room would promise all of his or her airline profit, if you actually own an airline, to the breakthrough discovery of an alternative fuel for the airline industry. only one per

virgin atlantic? for their very survival, they have to say i would recommend you fly british airways/american airlines because they've got to get up to that 80% of the market share next year. so it goes on. so american and british are driving out the remnants of the competition. i mean, it is preposterous that competition authorities can even consider allowing these two airlines to merge. i mentioned coke and pepsi. who would imagine coke and pepsi being allowed to merge? it's the exact equivalent if you look at their market share. it is preposterous that it can be allowed but the frightening thing in america is that it can be done on political reasons. it doesn't necessarily have to be done on pure analytical competition reasons. this is going to go to the department of transportation, not necessarily the department of justice, which would look at something like this on strict competition reasons and policy can play a part and that worries us. that's why i've come here today to really appeal to the d

. >> richard branson who started virgin atlantic airways speaks about aviation. mr. branson a vehement opponent of the proposed merger of british airways and american airlines was at the national press club where he spoke for an hour. goip. >> good morning, welcome to the national press club for our speaker breakfast. i'm donna -- a reporter with "usa today" and president of the national press club. we're the world's leading professional organization for journalists and are committed to a future of journalism by providing informative programming and journalism education and fostering a free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club, please visit our web site at www.press.org. on behalf of our 3,500 members worldwide i'd like to welcome our speaker and guest in the audience today. i would also like to welcome those of you who are watching us on c-span. we're looking forward to today's speech and afterwards i'll ask as many questions from the audience as time permits. please hold your applause during the speech so we have time for as many ques

. >> up next bridget branson who started virgin atlantic airways 25 years ago speaking on the airline industry. he opposes the possible merger of british airways.