Virgin Atlantic chairman Sir Richard Branson on Monday acknowledged the carrier will be compelled to enter an airline alliance and perhaps further surrender its independence

. Following last September's launch of a transatlantic joint venture by British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia, the airline in November confirmed reports that it hired Deutsche Bank to conduct a strategic review of its business. Speaking during a visit to Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, to order 60 new A320s for sister airline Virgin America, Branson, according to various news sources, said: "We realized for the long-term stability of Virgin Atlantic we need to look at an alliance partner, and whether it is purely an alliance or more than an alliance, we're completely undecided. My preference would be to keep control of the airline." Branson's Virgin Group owns 51 percent of Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines holds the other 49 percent.