Branson lobbying hard for domestic airspace

Virgin Atlantic chief Richard Branson, whose airlines started services to India in 2000, is intensely lobbying with New Delhi for permission to operate on domestic routes - where traffic growth is over 30%.

Branson, who is accompanying British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, met Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath twice on this tour and renewed his proposal to enter the domestic aviation sector that is closed to foreigners.

"I had dinner with the minister last night. I twisted his arm, (but) I do not know whether I have broken it," he told reporters on the sidelines of Brown's breakfast meeting here with industry leaders from the UK and India.

Branson said he spent 15 years "lobbying in trying to get international flights to and from India,". His airline which operates London-Delhi flights has plans to induct the largest aircraft A380 in three years in the Indian sector.

The flamboyant industrialist, whose business interests include aviation, telecom and railway, said that he would be coming back in the next three weeks to make big announcements on his different Indian ventures, including in telecom. Without giving details on his telecom plans in India, he said: "Negotiations are at a very advanced stage."

Branson said consolidation among the private airlines has already begun in India. Branson listed Indian carrier Jet Airways as his close competitor. "Jet Airways, I suspect is the best airline in India and we will do our best to make sure Virgin India is even better." He asked governments not to put protectionist rules to prohibit businesses from operating in each other's country. "If we can get these rules removed Virgin can do a lot more."

Under the existing policy vetted by a Group of Ministers, foreign nationals are not allowed to own any equity stake in domestic airlines.