Small Indian carrier Jagson Airlines is seeking to become a national operator and plans to add Airbus A320-family aircraft to its fleet of turboprops.

President and chief executive Uttam Kumar Bose says Jagson aims to add six A320-family aircraft on lease this year and that talks are now starting with lessors. He says he also intends to start negotiations with Airbus over the planned purchase of A321s.

"We will launch the services with the Airbus aircraft by April/May," says Bose. "The initial six for this year will be leased ones and I am about to start talking to Airbus about purchasing soon. We plan to have 19 Airbus aircraft within three years."

Bose adds: "We prefer to have A321s, but the initial six this year will be a mix of A320s and A321s because there are not so many A321s for lease. The aircraft we will purchase from Airbus will be A321s."