State-run carrier Air India on Sunday received praise from film star Shah Rukh Khan who said that he had "a hospitable, warm, beautiful journey" onboard the airline.

Declaring himself "unofficially and unabashedly", the "ambassador of Air India", Mr Khan, 53, said, " Thank u to the ground staff and the wonderful pilots for a hospitable warm and beautiful journey". The tweet was retweeted by Air India's official handle- @airindiain. Soon after Mr Khan's tweet, Air India replied to it, "It's always a pleasure for "Maharaja" to serve "King Khan".

"The Air India family is so happy to see your kind words of appreciation which are so encouraging for us.

We are truly humbled when "King Khan" is the brand ambassador for "Maharaja ", the national carrier tweeted.Meanwhile, Air India launched direct flight services from Bengaluru to London on Saturday. According to the airline, this service is being operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.In a separate promotional scheme , Air India is offering flight tickets at a starting all-inclusive price of Rs 1,000.

The flights will be operated late night with an aim to "beat peak hour rush", said the national airline on its website - airinida.in.

The night departures will start from November 30, 2018, it further said.

The flights will be operated on the the Bengaluru-Ahmedabad, Delhi-Coimbatore and Delhi-Goa routes, the carrier added.

The offer from the airline comes amid high competition in the country's civil aviation market.