UK airline Virgin in talks on $1.6 bln plane order = = = = Sunday August 10, 11:21 AM EDT = LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic Ltd = is in talks to buy aircraft worth about one billion pounds ($1.6 billion)= and it said on Sunday it intends to ramp up its expansion despite tough = industry conditions. Virgin said it had started talks with European aircraft maker Airbus, own= ed by EADS (EAD) and Britain's BAE Systems (BA), and U.S. arch-rival Boei= ng (BA) to buy up to 10 aircraft in addition to 13 it has already ordered= for delivery in the next few years. "Market conditions are still tough, but we're increasingly optimistic tha= t we can add capacity and take new aircraft," Paul Moore, director of cor= porate affairs for Virgin Atlantic, told Reuters. = "The best will always survive in any conditions and we've been taking mar= ket share from rivals and adding routes. We've proven the quality of our = products and services and that will continue to attract customers even in= a difficult market," Moore said. = Virgin aims to complete the discussions "within weeks, if not months" and= could take delivery of the new orders from as early as next year. Moore declined to comment on the likely supplier, and said planes could b= e taken from both manufacturers. "It's up to them to sharpen their pencils and make us the best offer," he= said. Airbus is due to supply 12 of the Virgin aircraft currently on order with= Boeing providing only one, which Moore said was because Airbus had made = a better offer. Demand for air travel has slumped in the last two years due to fears of t= error attacks, the Iraq war, the SARS virus and sluggish economies. = But Virgin, which is 51 percent owned by Branson's Virgin Group [VA.UL] a= nd 49 percent owned by Singapore Airlines (SIAL), said last week it had s= wung back to a net profit of 9.9 million pounds in the year to April 2003= , from a 59.5 million pound loss in 2001/02. = =A92003 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS