Mr KD Row, regional head of Air India for the UK and Ireland was speaking in Manchester as part of an Indian business delegation organised by inward investment agency MIDAS.
He said: "We were operating here, but withdrew for reasons of our own. We've commissioned a feasibility study.
"We've not set a deadline for this, but we already operate 10 flights a week out of Birmingham so we're looking at regional hubs. We have commissioned 120 new aircraft and as they enter our fleet, we can look at new routes."
The Indian delegation, which included representatives from software engineering giant Aztecsoft, business consultancy Hexaware, engineer HCL Technologies and the ICICI Bank, said they had been "highly impressed" with Manchester as a business location.
The party visited Manchester's billion-pound business district, Spinningfields, to attend meetings at the Royal Bank of Scotland and MEN Media.
The delegation also attended the one day international at Old Trafford between England and India, where they were hosted by the North West Development Agency's chief executive Stephen Broomhead.
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pauly_paul, manchester (04/09/2007 at 14:49)
Lynne Haywood (28/09/2007 at 15:16)
There is so much talk about British companies setting up in India - but how to get there - that's the problem.
There are obstacles all the way!
I try to get tourists into Goa and Kerala throughout the year but direct flights only operate between November and April, leaving me searching for connections from the Middle East, Sri-Lanka and Russia.
If planes can make it November to April why not the rest of the time!
Another problem for us Anglo/Indian business people is visas for India. What good is a six month single entry visa to someone trying to do business? I have not had this problem yet but I know someone who has. Another problem is telephone costs. Why are cheap calls available all over the world but not to India? Telephone charges are not expensive in India. It is very cheap to call UK.
India and UK business people who need each other for trade should get together to solve these problems.
UK is so much more like India than it is like the rest of Europe. We speak the same language, drive on the left and the British were in India for so long that it still feels like home.
It is a pity we didn't join forces to make one great nation instead of Britain being half European and half American.
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