London, April 22: It is now the turn of British Airways to announce its ambitious plans for India. By spring next year, it will operate a daily flight from Heathrow to Bangalore, Britain?s flag carrier announced today.

Although this scarcely needs saying, its spokesman emphasised: ?It?s a big IT market. We will probably have an inaugural (function) when we begin direct services from Heathrow to Bangalore in October this year.?

Previously, IT executives, toing and froing between Bangalore and the West, had to travel via Mumbai or Delhi.

BA has no plans at the moment to increase its thrice weekly service to Calcutta but if the state becomes an IT hub, as the Bengal government says it wants it to become, the city will also have better ?connectivity?.

Following the latest air agreement between the UK and Indian governments, BA is increasing the number of direct flights from Britain to India to 45. Only a few months ago, the number stood at 21.

?That is a huge increase,? the spokesman pointed out, a day after Air-India announced its plans for the UK-India route.

Unlike Air-India, BA has been privatised, which some airline experts believe is the route that Air-India will eventually have to follow if it is to compete with BA, Virgin and British Midlands, not to mention Jet and Sahara on the Indian side.

BA currently operates daily services from Heathrow to Mumbai and Delhi and a twice-a-week service to Chennai.

From October this year, it will:

Double flights between Heathrow and Mumbai from one to two each day

Start a new five-flights-per-week service between Heathrow and Bangalore, as opposed to the new three-per-week service previously planned

Increase services between Heathrow and Chennai from two to six per week

From March, 2006, BA will:

Double flights between Heathrow and Delhi from one to two each day

Increase flights between Heathrow and Bangalore from five per week to a daily service

Increase flights between Heathrow and Chennai from six per week to a daily service

BA?s director of commercial planning Robert Boyle said: ?The liberalisation of air services between the UK and India is great news for consumers as previous restrictions have prevented us from increasing flights between the two countries.?