People of the Midlands have been paying far too much for far too long

Barbara Cassani, Go chief executive

Managing director Tony Davis said his airline would not be beaten on fares or choice of destination.

"Go have several times said they won't take us seriously but I would just like to say they ignore us to their peril.

"East Midlands Airport is our base. We are not a London airline moving into the Midlands and for that we have an advantage.

"We will commit here and now that we will not be beaten on our choice of fares and we will offer the most comprehensive route network from the region."

Barbara Cassani, chief executive of Go, said on Tuesday: "We're delighted to be the first low cost airline to bring low fares to the people of the Midlands.

"They have been paying far too much for far too long."

More routes promised

Bmibaby will offer 15,000 free flights, 5,000 more than Go which also has �25 return including tax offers.

The bmibaby operation is set to fly to seven destinations - Barcelona, Malaga, Nice, Palma, Alicante, Faro and Dublin.

Tickets are due to go on sale from Monday on the airline's new web site bmibaby.com and flights will start on 23 March.

Flights with Go are on sale to Alicante, Malaga, Edinburgh, Prague, Faro and Glasgow.

Bmibaby has said a number of new destinations would be added to the list in the near future.