Of these, six will be operated from Kochi - two each to Dubai and Muscat and one each to Abu Dhabi and Bahrain-Doha. One flight will be operated from Mumbai to Dubai. The services will be operated with two Airbus 310-300 aircraft on dry lease inducted recently in AI's fleet.

According to sources: "With the introduction of these new services, AI's flights between Kochi and the Gulf will be stepped up to 15 a week - three to Muscat, six to Dubai of which two are via Abu Dhabi; one to Abu Dhabi; two to Damman; one each to Doha-Bahrain and Bahrain-Doha and one to Kuwait. The number of seats offered by AI between India and the Gulf will be raised by nearly 1,400 per week in each direction."

Passengers travelling by AI from New York and London will also now be able to travel directly to Kochi and complete their customs and immigration formalities there. The movement will, however, involve a change of aircraft at Mumbai.

Sources added: "Kochi's Cochin International Airport, in which AI has an equity stake besides exclusive passenger handling contract, is ideally located in the middle of Kerala, close to the port and in an area central to the non-resident Indian (NRI) population. Kochi became the eleventh Indian station on AI's network and the third on-line station in Kerala on June 10, 1999; other two being Thiruvananthapuram and Koahikode."

An added advantage of the introduction of these additional services is that the national carrier will now operate 40 flights a week between Kerala and Gulf - 15 from Kochi, six from Thiruvananthapuram and three on the Kozhikode-Gulf route with its own aircraft. AI will continue to operate 12 services jointly with Indian Airlines - four each between Kozhikode and Muscat /Dubai/Abu Dhabi; and four on a code-share basis with Kuwait Airways on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kuwait route.

AI plans to extend its network and services in the near future after two more Airbus 310-300s on dry lease are inducted in its fleet in early May this year.