LONDON — Virgin Atlantic Airways, which flew solo for a decade as rivals formed the global groups that dominate the industry, is edging closer to consolidation as Singapore Airlines considers selling its 49 percent stake,sources say.

With Delta Air Lines considering a bid, according to two people familiar with the matter, Virgin could form a North Atlantic venture with the U.S. carrier and its European partner Air France-KLM Group while joining the pair’s SkyTeam alliance.

“Virgin has rather lost its way as the world consolidates and they really need to bite the bullet,” said John Strickland, director of JLS Consulting in London. “Signing up to SkyTeam would be part of it, I’m sure, and they could bring a rock solid basis to Delta’s trans-Atlantic alliance with Air France-KLM.”

Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic’s founder and the holder of a 51 percent stake, said last month that he’s seeking an alliance for the carrier, which faces pressure from rising fuel prices and a joint venture of British Airways and AMR Corp.’s American Airlines at its London’s Heathrow airport base.

Any sale is likely to see billionaire entrepreneur Branson remain in control of Virgin Atlantic, which is based in Crawley, England, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ridgway said Monday.

“He is the majority shareholder,” Ridgway said after a statement from Singapore Airlines overnight. “What they said [Monday], it’s about Singapore selling some or all of their stake.”

For Atlanta-based Delta, the second-biggest U.S. airline, a deal would increase access to Europe’s busiest hub and add to its ability to capture lucrative trans-Atlantic business traffic.

“Virgin Atlantic has some interesting slots at Heathrow and slots are a very scarce commodity in the U.K.,” said Arnaud Bouchet, a Singapore based analyst at BNP Paribas.

Delta is discussing buying all or part of the Singapore stake, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private. As a U.S. company, 49 percent is the maximum holding it can take under European Union rules. Paris-based Air France-KLM, Europe’s top carrier, might also purchase stock, they said.

The deal would be a logical one for the French company, though its purchasing power would be limited to a stake of no more than 20 percent because of covenants attached to its debt, said Yan Derocles, an analyst at Oddo Securities in Paris.

Representatives of Delta, Virgin and Air France-KLM declined to comment. Negotiations with “interested parties” may not result in a transaction, Singapore Airlines said in its statement.

Singapore Airlines paid about $966 million for the Virgin stake in 1999, or about $961 million today. The stock has advanced 5.4 percent this year, valuing the company at $10 billion.

The Asian carrier is looking to sever ties with Virgin to focus on local markets, where opportunities are opening up at the same time that Gulf carriers Emirates, Qatar Airways Ltd. and Etihad Airways present new challenges, Ridgway said.

“India has opened up, China has opened up and there are three fearsome competitors on their western side,” Ridgway said. “That’s what their agenda is about. I’ve got to leave it to Singapore now, they’ve made that stock-exchange announcement and we just need to let them work that through.”

Virgin Atlantic has been seeking partners after hiring Deutsche Bank to assess options in 2010. The carrier posted a pretax loss of $129 million for the year ended February.

The airline is adding its first short-haul routes from northern England and Scotland to Heathrow in order to maintain feeder traffic to its hub.

Branson is also seeking a successor to Ridgway, 61, who retires early next year after 11 years as CEO. During his tenure, the carrier has emphasized perks such as spa treatments and high-design lounges to win high-end travelers.

Virgin is “well down the road” in choosing a new chief, Ridgway said in the interview, adding that the aim is to make an announcement before Christmas or slightly after and that candidates won’t be put off by the likelihood of a new investor.

Information for this article was contributed by Mathieu Rosemain, Patricia Kuo and David Fickling of The Associated Press.

Business, Pages 23 on 12/04/2012