India's flag carrier Air-India has shortlisted three companies to act as advisors for its initial public offer to finance the fleet acquisition and is awaiting the government's nod for the IPO, a spokesman of the airline said on Thursday.

The government, which holds the controlling stake in the public carrier, is expected to give its approval to the IPO within a week, the spokesman said.

The three companies which have been shortlisted are J M Morgan Stanley, DSP Merill Lynch and HSBC.

Once the government gives its go ahead, the airline would finalise one of the three companies which have been shortlisted for the purpose.

About the pilots' availability, the spokesman said the situation is now better as Air-India has got pilots from two foreign agencies, namely, New York-based Rushsworth Aviation and Singapore-based Sigma.

Air-India already has 20 foreign pilots and is planning to hire an equal number additionally to fly its aircraft which have been built with the latest technology, he said.

With 50 new generation aircraft coming in, the airline also plans to set up maintenance bases in Trivandrum and Delhi. For the Thiruvananthapuram base, 15 acres of land has been selected and the airline has sought land clearance from the Kerala government.

The Thiruvananthapuram base would be set up at an initial cost of Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) although the total capital outlay for this project is Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), the spokesman said.