This is part of the airlines'' frequency enhancement programme being rolled out across Go Air''s network, which will see it double the overall frequency of its network by increasing its flight operations from 259 to 561 commercial flights per week.

Go Air''s is going ahead with this new strategy despite the absence of plans to add new destinations to its current network during the current fiscal. All plans, for now, centre around the 11 destinations Go Air currently operates in.

GoAir''s new operational strategy comes at a time when the airline has been seeing a consistent load factor in excess of 80 per cent over the past few months, driven by a 123 per cent growth in its passenger traffic at the close of Q2.

Announcing GoAir''s winter schedule and the first phase of the rollout of its frequency building programme, Jeh Wadia, managing director, Go Air, said, "We are bundling new weekly flights as part of our capacity expansion during the new winter schedule across our network."

He said GoAir will now operate 177 weekly departures from Mumbai, from Delhi, 40 from Hyderabad, 49 from Bangalore, 36 from Goa, 28 from Jaipur, 21 from Ahmedabad, 27 from Chennai, and 14 from Cochin, amongst others.

That takes the total weekly flights operated by GoAir to 561. The new flights are schedule to commence operations from October 28, 2007.

Through its frequency enhancement programme, GoAir plans to consolidate its position for the 11 destinations in which it operates, through what the company calls "the key focus is to reiterate consumer commitment an ensure consumer comfort."

Go Air also plans to start its "Red Eye" operations from October-end.

The flights get their name from the fatigue symptom of having red eyes. Red-eye flights are usually operated late at night or very early in the morning, during the period from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time. They are also sometimes called "dry flight", since there is an absence of moisture in the air at high altitudes during late evening and early mornings.

As part of its proposed plan, Go Air will operate four red eyes within its current network. These will ply between Mumbai and Delhi (23:10), Hyderabad and Mumbai (23:30), Mumbai and Ahmedabad (23:05), and Ahmedabad and Mumbai (00:35).

Jeh Wadia said that Go Air''s red eye operations would find suitability amongst those passengers who do not mind travelling by the late night or early morning flights. The airlines'' red eye operations are aimed at cutting down long travelling hours spent on a train to cover the same distance, and it is optimistic about passenger response.

GoAir is betting that Red Eye flights will assist those small and medium enterprise (SMEs) and business travellers who after finishing meetings late in the day, need to connect with a new destination the following morning.

Wadia says GoAir has witnessed a considerable rise in business travellers due to its focus on providing quality service, best on-time performance, and quick turnaround of aircraft that average around 25 minutes.