New Delhi: Hopeful of getting day or evening landing slots at Heathrow airport, Air India (AI) is going to acquire two Boeing 747-400s and six A-310s on dry-lease soon to connect American cities via London by December 1.

With the dry-leasing of these eight aircraft, for which the process has already begun, the international flagship would also connect the Indian cities of Kochi, Chennai and Bangalore with US cities like New York and Chicago besides Paris, Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain said.

With these aircraft, the carrier's fleet strength would rise to 36.

The airline would also come up with a "new image" in December when these new flights are scheduled for launch, the minister said, adding that while the interiors of aircraft were being refurbished, new varieties of food would be included in the menu.

AI has already obtained a pair of landing slots at Heathrow to start an additional London terminator flight from Delhi from winter schedule starting December.

The Indian carrier has also got six pairs of slots per week at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, besides John F Kennedy (JFK) and Newark airports in New York for its three additional flights over Paris.

PTI