Air-India Chairman V Thulasidas is to preside over a dinner reception in London that highlights twice-weekly direct flights to Ahmedabad from the end of this month.

Pressure from local Gujaratis who make up 37 per cent of the ethnic Indian population in the United Kingdom has convinced the Maharaja that an air link between London and Ahmedabad will be lucrative.

Air-India's operating fleet of more than 30 aircraft spans the globe with daily flights to London and New York. The airline has also been leasing extra aircraft from other carriers to supplement new routes.

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Ashish Mathur, Air-India's marketing manager in London, told rediff.com that the price of a London-Ahmedabad return fare would be in the range of £415 to £450 (Rs 34,250 to Rs 37,125).

"Previously, our Ahmedabad-bound passengers had to disembark in Mumbai before taking internal connections to their final destination," Mathur explained. "Now the hassle of going through Mumbai is not there."

Although Ahmedabad has had an international airport for some time, Air-India is the first carrier to operate a direct international service to the Gujarat capital.

British Airways and other international airlines are also looking at the possibilities of flying direct to Ahmedabad, Mathur added.