AIR INDIA has decided to shift the headquarters of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Air India Charters Limited (AICL) from Mumbai to Kochi in Kerala. AICL runs Air India Express which presently connects 16 Indian cities to 14 international destinations with a fleet of 21 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. “The headquarters of AICL will be shifted to Kerala in pursuance of a decision taken on October 8, 2010 at the 178th meeting of the Board of AICL,” a company press release said. All operational and administrative functions will shift to Kochi, while the engineering functions for AICL will be at Thiruvananthapuram.

The airlines will also start operating flights between Mumbai and Doha from January 13, 2011. Services will start initially with two flights a week (on Thursday and Saturday) and will be increased to three flights by February 2011. The flight will depart in the evening from Doha and arrive in Mumbai before midnight. The airline hopes to increase the Mumbai frequency in summer next year to cater to the growing Doha market. Currently Air India Express operates to Kozhikode, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore.