By Santanu Choudhury 

NEW DELHI-Air India Ltd. is reconsidering plans to sell more of the long-range aircraft which it rarely uses as its executives are concerned they could be accused of corruption if any politician claimed that the jets were sold at the wrong price.

The money-losing, state-run national carrier sold five of its eight Boeing Co. 777-200 jetliners to Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways last year as it had decided it needed the cash and not the jets.

It got about 4.2 billion rupees ($69 million) per aircraft. The deal at the time was criticized by India's former federal auditor and others who said Etihad had somehow been given a sweetheart deal at below market rates.

Air India executives would now rather just lease out the planes than expose themselves to criticism and possible prosecution in the future.

"We don't want investigators to come knocking on our doors after some years to ask whether we made the right decision," said a senior Air India executive who asked not to be named.

Corruption allegations have been a staple of India's political establishment for decades but recent scandals have led to a wider debate about corruption on the country and helped bring in an administration that has promised to fight corruption.

Some of the scandals in recent years, including in the allotment of telecom spectrum and organizing the 2010 Commonwealth Games, led to sackings and even arrests of federal ministers.

The 777-200LR jets were part of 68 Boeing planes ordered by Air India in 2006. The planes had a list price of about $11 billion at the time of the deal.

Air India decided to get rid of its fleet of 777-200LR planes after higher jet fuel prices and a dearth of demand from Indian travelers forced it to ditch plans to operate nonstop long-distance flights to North America.

Write to Santanu Choudhury at santanu.choudhury@wsj.com

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