Air-India will increase flights to the United States via Frankfurt by operating directly from Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kochi, in addition to Mumbai and Delhi.

Disclosing this in Bangalore on Monday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said under the code sharing bilateral agreement signed with the German airlines Lufthansa, Air-India will operate three flights from Bangalore, Hyderabad, and four flights from Kochi every week, from December 1, 2003.

"The MoU with Lufthansa also enables Air-India to get a prime slot at the Frankfurt airport for its European and trans-Atlantic flights. In turn, Lufthansa will be allowed to operate three flights each from Bangalore and Hyderabad and four flights from Kochi," Rudy stated.

The direct flights to the US via Frankfurt will be initially to Chicago and New York. They could be extended to San Francisco and other cities subsequently.

"Air-India will operate 747-400 aircraft on these routes in addition to the existing six flights from Mumbai and Delhi through hub and spoke mode," Rudy affirmed.

The minister ruled out permitting British Airways to fly from Bangalore and Hyderabad till Air-India was given an additional slot at the Heathrow airport in London to operate its westbound flights.

"The bilateral pacts with international carriers have to be reciprocal. The government is ready to open our key airports to their flights provided they allow an equal number of Air-India flights to operate on their routes and destinations," Rudy asserted.

Meanwhile, Air-India officials told rediff.com in Bangalore that the airline had resumed its flights to Frankfurt recently after a three-year gap.

"Currently, we are operating three flights to Frankfurt from Mumbai via Delhi. We are also providing connecting flights to our passengers to the US from Frankfurt, where we have been given one slot to operate," the official said.