Billionaire Richard Branson signaled he may jump back into the US airline business after tussling with Alaska Air Group over how long the carrier must pay royalties on his Virgin America brand. Alaska has to keep paying “unless we decide to start another airline. So, we’ll see what happens,” Branson said in an interview Thursday with Bloomberg TV. When asked if he would create a new carrier, he said, “watch this space.” The serial entrepreneur’s comments hint at a return to the US airline industry following Virgin America’s $2.6b sale to Alaska in December. Branson maintains he should be compensated for the brand through 2040. Alaska, which plans to retire the Virgin America name in 2019, has said it doesn’t need to pay for a brand it isn’t using. Branson could find room for a new US airline as the major carriers have held back the supply of seats in recent years and have been saddled with higher costs because of new labor deals, said Samuel Engel, an aviation consultant with ICF. “There’s always space for another airline in the US,” Engel said. “It is a competitive and dynamic market, and the consolidation that has taken place in the last 10 years that has run parallel with capacity constraint only increases that opportunity.”<br/>
unaligned
Thai AirAsia is ramping up domestic inter-regional connections with the coming launch of its Ubon Ratchathani-Chiang Mai service. The country's largest low-cost carrier is set to begin its 14th direct inter-provincial route on June 23 as it zeroes in on a strategic plan to expand its domestic network, which is facing saturation. Typical domestic trunk routes -- those through Bangkok -- have been overcrowded with flights, with increased frequencies hindered by a lack of airport slots in key cities such as Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai. TAA claims to offer the most domestic inter-regional air connections with a total of 20 flights a day, including the new Ubon Ratchathani-Chiang Mai daily link. Santisuk Klongchaiya, commercial director at TAA, said TAA sees Ubon Ratchathani as a high-potential hub for the Northeast.<br/>