Qatar Airways has expressed interest in a tie-up as a joint venture partner in ground handling operations in India.

"We are interested in ground handling, but before proceeding ahead we should be able to read the fine print of the rules," Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker told reporters.

Indian Airlines, Air-India and Airports Authority of India have been recently allowed to form joint ventures with private parties for ground handling operations at various airports in the country.

Currently, Qatar Aviation Services, a division of the national carrier for the state of Qatar, is handling the ground operations at Doha airport.

The CEO said the airline had also shown interest in privatisation of airports but 'the process seems to be shelved for now.'

Baker, who was educated in Panchagani in Maharashtra, said they were keen to add three more stations -- Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore -- and have approached the Indian authorities for their permission.

The current capacity offered and operated weekly by the airline stands at 864 seats in Mumbai; 1,008 in Thiruvananthapuram; and 500 each in Kochi and Hyderabad.

The airline connects 19 flights in a week to four Indian destinations -- Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Hyderabad.

On privatisation of Air-India, which has now been put on hold, Baker said no foreign airline would like to invest a huge amount of cash where it does not get management control.

Referring to India's growth potential, he said the country could reap large economic benefits by introducing a more liberalised aviation policy.

"China and India are both rich in culture and ancient history. The former with a liberalised and deregulated aviation policy, is able to attract 20 times more tourists than India. This hurts me very much to see such huge potential being lost by India," he said.

As part of the airline's growth plan, Qatar Airways would extend its route network to 50 destinations by end of 2003 from the present 40, he said, adding that Moscow flights would begin from August.

Qatar Airways, which would host the annual conference of World Travel and Tourism Council in Doha next year, was increasing its fleet from 23 (Airbus) to 28 by end of 2003, Baker said.

Qatar Duty Free assistant general manager Krishna Kumari said in last fiscal the duty-free division of the airline had generated a revenue of $20 million and in 2003-04 the target has been set at $30 million.

In April, duty-free operations have already exceeded their target by 5 per cent, she added. Gregory Epps, the airline's manager, loyalty marketing, who looks after Qatar Airways Holidays, said they were also working on a package tour, mostly targetting Indian children who have never been to the country. However, it was in very early stages of conception.