Branson:Virgin keeps Hong Kong flights despite SARS TOKYO (Reuters) =97 Travel and retail mogul Richard Branson said on Thursday= =20 that Virgin Atlantic Airways would continue flights to Hong Kong despite=20 the SARS outbreak and that he expected to take Virgin Blue public in "the=20 next few months." Airlines throughout Asia have suffered severely as the deadly Severe Acute= =20 Respiratory Syndrome spreads, depressing travel across the region and=20 threatening to hamper global growth. "We plan to continue to fly to Hong=20 Kong, and in fact one of the things that I'm going to do when I go to Hong= =20 Kong is talk to the authorities about allowing us to fly on to Australia,"= =20 the Virgin Atlantic chairman told Reuters in an interview. "Cathay Pacific= =20 has been cutting back flights and actually I think what Hong Kong needs is= =20 more flights, not less," Branson added. He said he would visit Hong Kong=20 next week to show that he is "willing to spend time there." Hong Kong's=20 Cathay, regarded as most exposed among major carriers, has slashed 45% of=20 its flights as passenger numbers have slid by two-thirds. The bludgeoned=20 airline said on Thursday it may cut its proposed dividend due to SARS.=20 Despite the uncertain economic outlook, Branson said he was bullish about=20 the prospects for his discount Australian unit, Virgin Blue, and that a=20 widely anticipated public offering for the carrier on the Australian Stock= =20 Exchange was near. "Virgin Blue is beating all expectations. I think it is one of the most=20 profitable airlines in the world and I would expect it to come to market in= =20 the next few months," he said. "I would be surprised if we haven't floated= =20 by the fall." Virgin Blue, in which Branson and Australian transport group Patrick Corp=20 each have a 50% stake, had originally targeted an initial public offering=20 (IPO) in the first half of calendar 2003, but SARS and the war in Iraq have= =20 hindered those plans. Market sources have told Reuters that the IPO, which could be for about=20 A$500 million, is unlikely until at least the July-September quarter as the= =20 Iraq war and SARS batter airlines around the world. Virgin Blue ranks=20 second in the Australian market to Qantas Airways, but has held up=20 relatively well as it cashes in on stronger domestic demand and manages to= =20 maintain healthy yields and load factors. Branson also said he was in=20 discussions with "one or two networks" in Japan as the group gears up to=20 take a crack at the local telecoms market, hoping to repeat the success of= =20 his Virgin Mobile units in the U.S. and other parts of the world. "We've=20 got a formula with Virgin Mobile that is taking America by storm, it's=20 taking Britain by storm, it's taking Australia by storm, and we would love= =20 to launch in the Far East in countries like Japan as well," Branson said.=20 "Hopefully something will happen soon." Virgin Mobile USA, which sells=20 pay-in-advance wireless service primarily to teens and young adults, said=20 on Monday it attracted 500,000 customers in its first nine months of=20 operation. The joint venture between Branson's sprawling Virgin Group and=20 Sprint was launched last July and allows customers to pay for minutes in=20 advance instead of subscribing to a monthly plan. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.pscutt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************