Virgin Atlantic chief Richard Branson has hired Deutsche Bank to explore the airline’s strategic options, a move analysts believe could lead to him surrendering control.

“Deutsche Bank is working with Virgin Atlantic to assess the current aviation market place and seek growth opportunities for the airline,” the carrier confirmed.

“This study is at a very early stage so there is no further comment to make at this time.”

Mr Branson, who owns 51 per cent of the airline, called in the German bank to examine its market options following the hotly disputed trans-atlantic deal between British Airways (BA) and American Airlines.

Despite its healthy presence at London’s flagship Heathrow Airport, Virgin is not part of any of the three major airline groupings – the Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld.

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