The airline is planning to connect Chicago and Los Angeles with a daily frequency from March 28 as against six and five services respectively at present.

Delhi is to be connected thrice weekly with Los Angeles via Frankfurt while four flights would be operated out of Mumbai, Jitender Bhargava, public relations director, Air-India, said on the eve of the delivery of the first of three leased Boeing 737-800 aircraft for the budget carrier, A-I Express, which is scheduled to be launched from April connecting Kerala to the Gulf region.

Bhargava said with US accounting for a 20 per cent growth in revenues last year (Rs 900 crore) after the India region, which was around Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion), the airline was planning to link Mumbai-Delhi with San Francisco, Houston and Washington in the next 12 months by taking more aircraft on lease, pending the fleet expansion proposal.

Presently it has taken on lease five Boeing 747-400s, two 777s and 11 Airbus A310s apart from the 14 Boeing 737-800s that it plans to take for the no frills airline, A-I Express.

Bhargava said despite the tight conditions for leased aircraft, A-I had an edge as it had tapped the market much earlier to meet its growing expansion plans, especially to US, where it had increased the number of flights from a mere 10 (daily to New York and three to Chicago) services in December 2002 to 25 now by adding Newark (daily), Los Angeles (five flights) and three more services to Chicago).

By March end, A-I will have 28 services a week with daily flights to all the four destinations in US New York, Newark, Chicago and Los Angeles.

By way of product improvement, the airline has invested Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million) towards providing flat beds in first class and sleeperettes in business class, he said adding that A-I was the only airline which provided direct services to US without change of aircraft en route compared to other carriers.

On the budget airline, 62 hostess from Kerala on contract, 30 aircraft maintenance engineers and 45 technicians have been taken for launching the low cost airline from three destinations in Kerala to the Gulf in the first phase beginning April end, 2005.

Pilots and co-pilots are currently under going training while the cabin crew would undergo flight safety training. As part of cost containing exercise, the new airline, to be operated by AI Charters Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of A-I, is launching e-ticketing and Internet booking.

By March next year, A-I Express plans to launch 127 flights a week which will include providing direct connection from the four metros to the south east destinations and between Mumbai and Delhi to the Gulf.

The Boeing 737-800s would be taken on lease as the proposal for 18 aircraft, approved by the board last year, is presently pending with the government.