National flag carrier Air-India is proposing to club its long-haul and short-haul fleet acquisition projects.

According to company officials, the decision is primarily to expedite the acquisition process. The board meeting to approve both the projects is likely to be held in July.

Earlier, A-I had decided to give first preference to the acquisition of the 10 long-haul planes. The whole acquisition process had been delayed due to the Indian Pilots' Guild agitation on the Sars issue.

Senior company executives said since the technical evaluation for the short-haul planes had reached the completion stage, it made sense to combine the two proposals.

For the long-haul aircraft all that remains is a board approval as the technical and financial evaluation has been completed.

The airline in November, 2002, had approved the acquisition of seventeen 250-seater long haul aircraft.

The A-I technical committee had shortlisted the Airbus A-340 and Boeing 777-200 extended range for the same. Later, the airline changed the proposal to 10 firm orders and seven optional.

A-I had also revived its decision for the induction of short haul aircraft this year. The airline proposes to place firm orders for 12 such airplanes and keep options open for the purchase of six additional ones.

The two models shortlisted are Airbus A-320-200 and Boeing B-737-800. The entire fleet acquisition is likely to cost close to $3.2 billion.

A-I has claimed that induction of aircraft is a must if it wants to expand its operations. The airline had decided to shut 43 online and offline offices in 2001 since it was not being able to operate from all the passenger destinations.

The airline has started operations to Newark and Frankfurt last year.