Virgin Airlines founder Sir Richard Branson hinted in an ABC interview on Monday that his airline could eventually abandon its New Zealand service routes following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) disapproval last week of the planned Virgin Blue-Air New Zealand Alliance.

In its decision, the ACCC ruled that the proposed alliance between the two carriers would lead to a reduced competition environment on the trans-Tasmanian route, form which Sir Richard reacted by declaring that Virgin can ditch its New Zealand flights since the service is not returning any profits so far.

Sir Richard had hoped that through the proposed collaboration with Air NZ, the two airlines could actually provide sufficient competition to the routes' present dominant carrier, Qantas and its budget subsidiary, Jetstar.

The Virgin owner argued that the proposed alliance could have resulted to a fair competition for the New Zealand routes, which could lead to lower fares that would directly benefit the travelling public, warning at the same time that affordable fares would never happen if the routes ended up being dominated by both Qantas and Jetstar.

Sir Richard admitted that Virgin Blue's presence on the New Zealand routes was also about business and if no arrangements were forthcoming for an amicable accommodation on the company's application and if the profit slides continue, then pulling out, he said, was an option.

The flamboyant executive could only wish that ACCC would be more consistent in its rulings, where in the past the competition watchdog had either allowed or encouraged partnerships between Qantas, Air NZ and even British Airways.

Sir Richard said that Virgin Blue is still hopeful that the competition regulator would "treat Virgin Blue, which is a much smaller airline, in an equal way and allow us to create a level playing field."