Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson slams Qantas' 'dirty tricks'

SIR Richard Branson has weighed into Australia's battle of the skies, lashing out at rival Qantas for waging "dirty tricks.

VIRGIN founder Richard Branson has weighed into Australia's battle of the skies, lashing out at rival Qantas for waging a "dirty tricks" campaign against his airline.

"Over the past week I have watched the behaviour of Qantas, and likened it to the tactics that were thrown at us by British Airways in the 1990s with their dirty tricks campaign,'' he said. "The strategy by Qantas to exert its power over its smaller rival by releasing false information and attempting to discredit Virgin Australia is no different."

The comments come after Qantas boss Alan Joyce accused Virgin of deliberately running losses by setting prices below a competitive level, thanks to a $300 million injection from Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Etihad airways.

"The agenda of these foreign airlines is to terminally weaken Qantas and Jetstar in our domestic markets, force us to shrink our international business and sacrifice jobs," Mr Joyce said.

Morgan Stanley analysts last night warned Qantas remained in a downgrade cycle, despite noting its balance sheet appeared "robust".

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