Mumbai-based Wadia group's low-cost carrier Go Airlines India Ltd (GoAir) Tuesday launched its service to Goa (Panjim) from Bangalore with a brand new aircraft (A320) of Airbus.
"The one-hour flight to Goa has been scheduled to offer a round trip travel on the same day with a morning departure from Bangalore and a return flight from Panjim in the evening," GoAir chief executive Giorgio De Roni told reporters here.
With the youngest fleet (13) in the country's civil aviation industry, including the new aircraft, the company operates across 22 destinations with about 100 no-stop flights a day and 700 a week.
"With the new service, our total flights to/from Bangalore will increase to 84 per week, linking Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Goa. The timings are scheduled so as to provide connecting flights to Chandigarh, Jammu, Jaipur, Patna and Srinagar from the nearest respective destinations," Roni said.
Though there was a decline in the plane load factor to 63 percent during June and July, the carrier has seen an upturn this month and hopes to increase it to 70-75 percent in the ensuing months, cashing in on festivals and holiday season till year-end.
"We are in the process of acquiring our 14th aircraft during this fiscal (2012-13) to expand our presence across the country, especially in southern and western regions, which have a huge potential to tap when the turn around takes place in the near future," Roni said.
Focusing on value for money with on-time performance, loyalty programme and efficient service on ground and onboard, the airline offers business class in a low-cost environment.
Besides Bangalore, the carrier operates from Chennai and Kochi in south India.
"We plan to commence our operations from other southern cities such as Hyderabad and Coimbatore with our fleet expansion," Roni added.