Air India Express, the budget airline operated by national carrier Air India, is expanding its operations in Gulf by connecting more Indian destinations with the Middle East.

Close on the heels of introducing a direct flight from Dubai to Nagpur on September 24, Air India Express is adding two more Indian destinations to its schedule, Jaipur and Lucknow, said Freddie Vaz, regional Director of Air India.

The airline may soon add Goa by the year-end or next year, he added.

'These destinations will be the low-cost carrier's 11th and 12th with effect from the winter schedule commencing on October 28,' he said in a statement.

Three non-stop flights a week will be operated on each route. All the flights will originate and terminate at New Delhi.

With these new routes, Air India Express will be operating 60 flights a week from Dubai and Sharjah to 12 Indian destinations.

This week, Air India Express inducted a brand new Boeing 737-800 into its fleet. The induction takes the number of new B737-800 aircraft in Air India Express' fleet to 10.

Besides, it has seven leased aircraft of the same make.

Air India Express, whose flights have an all-economy class configuration, operates services from several Indian cities to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, Muscat, Salalah in UAE and Oman, Bahrain and Doha, as well as to Singapore and Colombo. It also proposes to introduce direct flights from Kolkata to Dhaka, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.