According to a top company official "Air India has been planning to increase the Air India Express fleet to 25 by 2008. Presently, Air India Express has 13 aircraft, including seven taken for rent," the airline's Chairman and Managing Director V Thulasidas told reporters on the occasion of the second anniversary celebrations of Air India Express service in Thiruvananthapuram.

The total revenue expected from Air India Express during this year could be Rs 1,000 crore and the number of passengers, would one million, he said.

Last year, Air India Express carried 7.50 lakh passengers and has earned revenue of Rs 690 crore, he added.

The Thiruvananthapuram-Dubai daily service would be also started within a period of three months, Thulasidas said.

He said legal procedures of the Air India-Indian merger would be completed by June.

But it would take one or two years more for the actual integration of the fleet, network and employees of both the airlines, he added.

Thulasidas pointed out that both the airlines and the government have made it clear that the merger wouldn't result in retrenchment of the employees.

"The headquarters of the new company, its name and brand are yet to be decided," he further said. - DDNews India