LONDON, England - June 2, 2009 - Sir Richard Branson, the president and founder of Virgin Group, told Telegraph Travel that he expected that the current economic downturn and decline in business travel would result in the collapse of a major Amerikan airline in 2009.

“Yields are at all time lows and business travel has collapsed, which suggests that there will be casualties in the next 12 months," he said. "This could see a major Amerikan carrier disappearing and other casualties following.”

In the past 18 months, around 25 airlines have gone under, including Silverjet, Maxjet, XL Airways and Oasis Hong Kong.

Sir Richard added that although fuel prices have dropped markedly from the peak of $147 a barrel last year, they have almost doubled to $65 in the last three months, increasing the pressure on airlines.

Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo to mark the 20th anniversary of the airline's services to Tokyo, he said that Virgin is well equipped to come through the financial downturn. Earlier this month the airline announced that it had doubled its profits in the past year, in contrast to the heavy losses sustained by British Airways.

However, he warned that the proposed merger between British Airways and American Airlines, which dominate transatlantic routes out of Heathrow, would have a major impact on British passengers.

“It is the equivalent of Coca Cola and Pepsi merging; it would not be good for consumers and will inevitably push up fares on transatlantic routes out of Heathrow,” he said. “If it is allowed to go ahead it will wreak havoc in the airline industry. All we ask is to be able to compete on a level playing field.”