PIA to achieve break-even in 2025 [Post#362]

[Syed1]

I just travelled through PIA and let me assure you that the journey was horrendous and worse than ever.


Ok so this is the first time I had taken PIA since 2010, I come every year to Pak and always used to fly through Qatar Airways but since this time I had bought my tickets at severely last minute Qatar, Emirates and Etihad were considerably more expensive than PIA. So I figured I'll buy PIA what's the worse that can happen. My God was I wrong. So flight was supposed to fly at 2pm from Toronto but early in the morning I got email that your flight has been delayed for one hour and now it'll fly at 3pm. I get to the airport and there they announce ok now flight is further delayed it'll now depart at 345pm. Then when 345 arrived they had us all board the plane but the plane showed no signs of moving. 345 turned into 4 which then turned into 430pm and then finally captain announced we will now be leaving apparently they weren't getting security clearance and all this time we were sitting in extreme heat and no one even asked us if we need any water or anything. Near me there were four washrooms and two of them had an 'inoperable' sticker even before the plane left. One of the passengers during the flight clogged up one of the operational washrooms and the flight attendants had to lock it. The one remaining washroom now had huge line-ups throughout the flight. I was told there were more washrooms in the front and rear but I figured they would have line-ups too. Don't even ask me how disgusting the washrooms were.

Ok it's a 13-14 hour flight, the passengers need to do something to kill the time, but PIA thought why not just make the passengers sleep and the lights were off for majority of the flight apart from during serving food. There was good reason behind it because THE FREAKING FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM WASN'T WORKING.

The PIA staff did not even hand out blankets or anything of that sort and a couple of times I woke up just because it was so cold in the plane and nothing to cover me up.

Now we come to the food, you always heard that no matter how bad PIA service is atleast the food is top notch. Incorrect. The first meal that was served was daal chawal, yes you read that correctly daal chawal, and it was accompanied by some lame chicken salan that wasn't nice at all. The second meal was breakfast with egg omelette, it wasn't so bad. The third meal was a chicken patties and some other snack items. Pretty sure the patties was stale as it gave me diarrhea for my first week in Pakistan. There were no food options and the flight would have been a nightmare for any vegetarian.


Now the return flight is tomorrow and I'm already seriously dreading it.




PIA, never again.

 

[Bewal Express]

People are desperate to travel with PIA as they see it is patriotic act but the PIA management is basically thick Nooras and PPP workers that are getting paid at the expense of the poor travellers. This organisation is ripe for real reform, and the PTI must not shirk from this.

 

[ManFan]

People are desperate to travel with PIA as they see it is patriotic act but the PIA management is basically thick Nooras and PPP workers that are getting paid at the expense of the poor travellers. This organisation is ripe for real reform, and the PTI must not shirk from this.

Can you explain the workers part?

 

[Bewal Express]

Can you explain the workers part?

Most of the workers of the PIA have bribed Noora and PPP ministers to get their jobs. The PIA has the highest number of workers to planes ratio in the world.

 

[ManFan]

Most of the workers of the PIA have bribed Noora and PPP ministers to get their jobs. The PIA has the highest number of workers to planes ratio in the world.

Thanks.

 

[Pakpak]

Can you explain the workers part?

Its become a running joke that if someone's nawasa, bhateeja or whatever needs a job uus ko PIA mey lagva doh due to political connections.

 

[ManFan]

Its become a running joke that if someone's nawasa, bhateeja or whatever needs a job uus ko PIA mey lagva doh due to political connections.

No wonder they look clueless.

I printed out a ticket and they said it’s not real. They told me to go the airlines’ office and there was none except a PIA one.

Upon my mothers’ firm words, he let us through, laughing at his mistake.

 

[UP]

I just travelled through PIA and let me assure you that the journey was horrendous and worse than ever.


Ok so this is the first time I had taken PIA since 2010, I come every year to Pak and always used to fly through Qatar Airways but since this time I had bought my tickets at severely last minute Qatar, Emirates and Etihad were considerably more expensive than PIA. So I figured I'll buy PIA what's the worse that can happen. My God was I wrong. So flight was supposed to fly at 2pm from Toronto but early in the morning I got email that your flight has been delayed for one hour and now it'll fly at 3pm. I get to the airport and there they announce ok now flight is further delayed it'll now depart at 345pm. Then when 345 arrived they had us all board the plane but the plane showed no signs of moving. 345 turned into 4 which then turned into 430pm and then finally captain announced we will now be leaving apparently they weren't getting security clearance and all this time we were sitting in extreme heat and no one even asked us if we need any water or anything. Near me there were four washrooms and two of them had an 'inoperable' sticker even before the plane left. One of the passengers during the flight clogged up one of the operational washrooms and the flight attendants had to lock it. The one remaining washroom now had huge line-ups throughout the flight. I was told there were more washrooms in the front and rear but I figured they would have line-ups too. Don't even ask me how disgusting the washrooms were.

Ok it's a 13-14 hour flight, the passengers need to do something to kill the time, but PIA thought why not just make the passengers sleep and the lights were off for majority of the flight apart from during serving food. There was good reason behind it because THE FREAKING FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM WASN'T WORKING.

The PIA staff did not even hand out blankets or anything of that sort and a couple of times I woke up just because it was so cold in the plane and nothing to cover me up.

Now we come to the food, you always heard that no matter how bad PIA service is atleast the food is top notch. Incorrect. The first meal that was served was daal chawal, yes you read that correctly daal chawal, and it was accompanied by some lame chicken salan that wasn't nice at all. The second meal was breakfast with egg omelette, it wasn't so bad. The third meal was a chicken patties and some other snack items. Pretty sure the patties was stale as it gave me diarrhea for my first week in Pakistan. There were no food options and the flight would have been a nightmare for any vegetarian.


Now the return flight is tomorrow and I'm already seriously dreading it.




PIA, never again.

Summed up the deep mess all institutions are in.

But some desi patriotic people will come in this thread and will make you belive how PIA is better than Emirates, Air Canada, Qatar etc.

 

[sjahmed23]

One wonders how PIA manages to offer its employees such amazing perks when their reputation is so bad.

 

[blackanhyellow]

One wonders how PIA manages to offer its employees such amazing perks when their reputation is so bad.

Which is exactly why they are going down the toilet.

It has become a cesspool of nepotism and political favours in terms of hiring policies.

They are way over staffed for an airline of their size, and from what I hear (I have not fact checked this) they have like 10 pilots per air plane which is ridiculous.

Apparently many of the employees dont even show up to work and just collect pay checks that is how bad the corruption is.

 

[blackanhyellow]

Whoops just fact checked myself.

Its worse than I thought, apparently PIA has over 530 pilots employed with a total 32 planes in its fleet

I dont know how many pilots they need per plane as per typical regulations, but this seems a bit overkill

Then we ask why PIA is a sinking ship (or a falling plane)

Source: http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/370832-Guess-how-many-pilots-does-it-take-to-fly-32-aircr

 

[sjahmed23]

Which is exactly why they are going down the toilet.

It has become a cesspool of nepotism and political favours in terms of hiring policies.

They are way over staffed for an airline of their size, and from what I hear (I have not fact checked this) they have like 10 pilots per air plane which is ridiculous.

Apparently many of the employees dont even show up to work and just collect pay checks that is how bad the corruption is.

They need to do what Bangladesh did and close shop. Enough is enough. I don't think PIA is returning to its golden days, the planes are in bad condition and government doesn't have enough money to buy new ones and make investments.

 

[blackanhyellow]

They need to do what Bangladesh did and close shop. Enough is enough. I don't think PIA is returning to its golden days, the planes are in bad condition and government doesn't have enough money to buy new ones and make investments.

I disagree.

It is not profitable because there is so much corruption.

522 pilots to fly a fleet of 32 planes....

These pilots are highly paid.

If they hired that many pilots imagine all the other extra staff they hired throughout the air line.

I think if you fix the corruption, and keep only the good employees the standards of service will go up.

When standards go up, more people will fly PIA.

 

[mmkextreme_1]

I just travelled through PIA and let me assure you that the journey was horrendous and worse than ever.


Ok so this is the first time I had taken PIA since 2010, I come every year to Pak and always used to fly through Qatar Airways but since this time I had bought my tickets at severely last minute Qatar, Emirates and Etihad were considerably more expensive than PIA. So I figured I'll buy PIA what's the worse that can happen. My God was I wrong. So flight was supposed to fly at 2pm from Toronto but early in the morning I got email that your flight has been delayed for one hour and now it'll fly at 3pm. I get to the airport and there they announce ok now flight is further delayed it'll now depart at 345pm. Then when 345 arrived they had us all board the plane but the plane showed no signs of moving. 345 turned into 4 which then turned into 430pm and then finally captain announced we will now be leaving apparently they weren't getting security clearance and all this time we were sitting in extreme heat and no one even asked us if we need any water or anything. Near me there were four washrooms and two of them had an 'inoperable' sticker even before the plane left. One of the passengers during the flight clogged up one of the operational washrooms and the flight attendants had to lock it. The one remaining washroom now had huge line-ups throughout the flight. I was told there were more washrooms in the front and rear but I figured they would have line-ups too. Don't even ask me how disgusting the washrooms were.

Ok it's a 13-14 hour flight, the passengers need to do something to kill the time, but PIA thought why not just make the passengers sleep and the lights were off for majority of the flight apart from during serving food. There was good reason behind it because THE FREAKING FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM WASN'T WORKING.

The PIA staff did not even hand out blankets or anything of that sort and a couple of times I woke up just because it was so cold in the plane and nothing to cover me up.

Now we come to the food, you always heard that no matter how bad PIA service is atleast the food is top notch. Incorrect. The first meal that was served was daal chawal, yes you read that correctly daal chawal, and it was accompanied by some lame chicken salan that wasn't nice at all. The second meal was breakfast with egg omelette, it wasn't so bad. The third meal was a chicken patties and some other snack items. Pretty sure the patties was stale as it gave me diarrhea for my first week in Pakistan. There were no food options and the flight would have been a nightmare for any vegetarian.


Now the return flight is tomorrow and I'm already seriously dreading it.




PIA, never again.

LOL, you basically summed up word for word for a PIA flight I took out of NYC to Pakistan. Maybe you were on that same exact plane? But the catch is, this was back in 2013.

I've also had some somewhat positive experiences as well, mostly during the Musharraf era, but then again I was a teenager back then.

 

[Third_Umpire]

Only way to fly PIA is completely drunk so you miss all the action and wake up 10 hours later when it's time to land.

 

[Abdullah719]

PIA achieves new milestone in engineering and maintenance

Pakistan International Airline's Engineering and Maintenance Department has achieved another milestone by successfully completing a major check on one of its Airbus A320 aircraft, a statement by the national carrier said.

According to PIA, the airline was able to complete the maintenance check through the expertise of its engineers who worked with complete dedication to perform the check within the planned time.

"The aircraft rolled out with fresh paint and renewed cabin interior," reads the press release.

This is the third aircraft to have undergone the 12-yearly in-house check.

The maintenance exercise will help the airline save over a million dollars, PIA said. The national carrier's engineering department aims to upgrade its maintenance capabilities to include all aircraft types operating in Pakistan.

With clients including Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Oman Air, and Gulf Air, the engineering department aims to become the leading maintenance services provider in Pakistan as well as the entire region.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/206460-pi...-in-engineering-and-maintenance?5b6972c9e4dc5

 

[Abdullah719]

^^^ Doing something on time = New milestone Low standards, I guess.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Another suo motu needed asap !<br><br>National flag carrier <a href="https://twitter.com/Official_PIA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Official_PIA</a> switched off air conditioning & closed the doors for about two hours after all the passengers were on-boarded including infants struggling for fresh… More air to survive. [1/3] <a href="https://t.co/bnwtjOYd85">pic.twitter.com/bnwtjOYd85</a></p>— Syed Raza Mehdi (@SyedRezaMehdi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SyedRezaMehdi/status/1026946251261202432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PK 750 Paris to Islamabad was scheduled to depart from Paris at 9 pm on Friday 3 Aug but delayed for 2 hours and 39 minutes without giving any reason to passengers on-board. Cruelty was at peak and It’s clear to all viewers in shared video that how a mother was begging for [2/3]</p>— Syed Raza Mehdi (@SyedRezaMehdi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SyedRezaMehdi/status/1026946256512475136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">to open the door and to save her child who was completely unconscious when the air conditioning system was completely off. [3/3]</p>— Syed Raza Mehdi (@SyedRezaMehdi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SyedRezaMehdi/status/1026946259632971778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[hadi123]

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson on Wednesday said they are investigating a viral video which showed people shouting and gasping for air on board the national carrier’s flight.

“We are investigating but it is not yet clear when this video was recorded as we did not receive reports of any such incident,” PIA spokesperson Mashood Tajwar said while speaking to Geo News.

“We are trying to identify the crew visible in the video to determine the flight number,” he added.

Further, the PIA spokesperson assured that those responsible will be held accountable.

In the video, passengers, including a woman holding an infant, can be seen gathered at the front of the airplane and demanding the cabin crew to open the doors to let fresh air in.

The woman can be heard pleading for help as she complains that her infant was facing difficulty breathing. The passengers repeatedly demand that the crew open the doors but to no avail.

According to reports, passengers were seated inside the plane with air conditioners switched off and made to wait for over two hours before the flight took off.

The flight was reportedly headed to Islamabad from Paris.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/206584-pi...engers-unable-to-breathe-as-plane-acs-turned-

 

[sjahmed23]

^ this is beyond disgusting. Watching that video makes you so upset, how thick can a person be? Does the pilot not have any kids? Just going on youtube and typing pia shows you that this is not an one off incidence there are other videos of similar incidents but there the crew actually open the gate after passengers complained about suffocating. I vow to never take pia or let anyone in my family take pia ever again, these people are not humane. This airline should be history.

 

[Pakistanian]

PIA sucks, it's run on nepotism by a bunch tribal warlords from Sindh. My mother still has friends in their 50s who work as PIA flight attendants, they're still working for like 30 years. Nobody gets fired if you're friends with the Bhuttos.

 

[classic]

Disgusting and dangerous by all concerned. That poor baby hope he/she is well. The airline management is doomed I tell you . The only National carrier which once was regarded as one of the best has finally had its toll on me and my family. I for one will not travel with PIA until drastic measures are taken. The airline whole management / ground staff and handleing agents needs fresh training and new aircraft brought in. Need to follow the examples set by Turkish airline .

 

[classic]

I feel the public needs to show their disgust by not choosing to fly with PIA until things drastically improve in quality of service and on grounds. It's totally outrageous of how much they keep getting away with each time with regular delayed flights , broken in flight entertainment, no AC or limited ,rubbish ground staff delaying baggage etc etc.

 

[Syed1]

I feel the public needs to show their disgust by not choosing to fly with PIA until things drastically improve in quality of service and on grounds. It's totally outrageous of how much they keep getting away with each time with regular delayed flights , broken in flight entertainment, no AC or limited ,rubbish ground staff delaying baggage etc etc.

I recently took PIA, read my ordeal here:

I just travelled through PIA and let me assure you that the journey was horrendous and worse than ever.


Ok so this is the first time I had taken PIA since 2010, I come every year to Pak and always used to fly through Qatar Airways but since this time I had bought my tickets at severely last minute Qatar, Emirates and Etihad were considerably more expensive than PIA. So I figured I'll buy PIA what's the worse that can happen. My God was I wrong. So flight was supposed to fly at 2pm from Toronto but early in the morning I got email that your flight has been delayed for one hour and now it'll fly at 3pm. I get to the airport and there they announce ok now flight is further delayed it'll now depart at 345pm. Then when 345 arrived they had us all board the plane but the plane showed no signs of moving. 345 turned into 4 which then turned into 430pm and then finally captain announced we will now be leaving apparently they weren't getting security clearance and all this time we were sitting in extreme heat and no one even asked us if we need any water or anything. Near me there were four washrooms and two of them had an 'inoperable' sticker even before the plane left. One of the passengers during the flight clogged up one of the operational washrooms and the flight attendants had to lock it. The one remaining washroom now had huge line-ups throughout the flight. I was told there were more washrooms in the front and rear but I figured they would have line-ups too. Don't even ask me how disgusting the washrooms were.

Ok it's a 13-14 hour flight, the passengers need to do something to kill the time, but PIA thought why not just make the passengers sleep and the lights were off for majority of the flight apart from during serving food. There was good reason behind it because THE FREAKING FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM WASN'T WORKING.

The PIA staff did not even hand out blankets or anything of that sort and a couple of times I woke up just because it was so cold in the plane and nothing to cover me up.

Now we come to the food, you always heard that no matter how bad PIA service is atleast the food is top notch. Incorrect. The first meal that was served was daal chawal, yes you read that correctly daal chawal, and it was accompanied by some lame chicken salan that wasn't nice at all. The second meal was breakfast with egg omelette, it wasn't so bad. The third meal was a chicken patties and some other snack items. Pretty sure the patties was stale as it gave me diarrhea for my first week in Pakistan. There were no food options and the flight would have been a nightmare for any vegetarian.


Now the return flight is tomorrow and I'm already seriously dreading it.




PIA, never again.

I have now decided to never travel by PIA again even if the ticket is at half price compared to proper airlines like Qatar, Etihad and Emirates.

 

[Varun]

Only way to fly PIA is completely drunk so you miss all the action and wake up 10 hours later when it's time to land.

Unfortunately, PIA are an alcohol free airline.

 

[classic]

I recently took PIA, read my ordeal here:







I have now decided to never travel by PIA again even if the ticket is at half price compared to proper airlines like Qatar, Etihad and Emirates.

Exactly my sentiments . My family have vowed to never fly PIA even if the tickets are cheaper than other airline. Part of going to Pakistan for me is also the flying experience by the time I get to Pakistan on PIA it leaves me and my family in tears and very disorientated. Only last year I discovered Turkish air and what a fab experience we all had . Apart from a slight hiccup at Heathrow check in , which was swiftly sorted we arrived in Karachi with a smile on our faces. Modern brand new planes great IFE and very nice food the punctuality of our flights on both sector was spot on that I even made a short video of the plane moving against my watch . It was as if the pilot was trying to prove a point to its customers .

 

[msb314]

I recently took PIA, read my ordeal here:







I have now decided to never travel by PIA again even if the ticket is at half price compared to proper airlines like Qatar, Etihad and Emirates.

You also have the option of flying Turkish or Air China from Canada to Pakistan

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are very happy to share that mummy and baby from flight PK750 are doing well. The CEO PIA sent his representative to meet with the family and also called to find out about their welfare. The inquiry for the incident is underway. Our passengers are important to us.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PIA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PIA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeCare?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeCare</a> <a href="https://t.co/FSDL7yghk7">pic.twitter.com/FSDL7yghk7</a></p>— PIA (@Official_PIA) <a href="https://twitter.com/Official_PIA/status/1027514646083846144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Damage control...

 

[Syed1]

You also have the option of flying Turkish or Air China from Canada to Pakistan

Are you even serious? Air China flies over the Pacific and goes to Beijing/Shanghai it'll take me 30 hours to get to Pakistan



Now I know when people say overseas Pakistanis are super ignorant and not in touch with reality.

 

[Rayyman]

Are you even serious? Air China flies over the Pacific and goes to Beijing/Shanghai it'll take me 30 hours to get to Pakistan



Now I know when people say overseas Pakistanis are super ignorant and not in touch with reality.

I'm pretty sure most of us know where China is on the map

 

[babajee]

Are you even serious? Air China flies over the Pacific and goes to Beijing/Shanghai it'll take me 30 hours to get to Pakistan



Now I know when people say overseas Pakistanis are super ignorant and not in touch with reality.

Are you back from Pakistan? How was the return flight

 

[Syed1]

Are you back from Pakistan? How was the return flight

Astagfirrulah... Allah bachaye PIA se

 

[babajee]

Astagfirrulah... Allah bachaye PIA se

I am going from Qatar

 

[Major]

I feel sorry for those who travel from North America to Pakistan or vice versa without the entertainment system on PIA.

The flight is soo damn long and without an entertainment system it ruins the whole exprience.

Once, when i was like 13, we flew in Qatar Airways. My GOD, it was the best flight experience i ever had. We were in economy but yet we got an option when being served meals.

 

[Usman]

I just travelled through PIA and let me assure you that the journey was horrendous and worse than ever.


Ok so this is the first time I had taken PIA since 2010, I come every year to Pak and always used to fly through Qatar Airways but since this time I had bought my tickets at severely last minute Qatar, Emirates and Etihad were considerably more expensive than PIA. So I figured I'll buy PIA what's the worse that can happen. My God was I wrong. So flight was supposed to fly at 2pm from Toronto but early in the morning I got email that your flight has been delayed for one hour and now it'll fly at 3pm. I get to the airport and there they announce ok now flight is further delayed it'll now depart at 345pm. Then when 345 arrived they had us all board the plane but the plane showed no signs of moving. 345 turned into 4 which then turned into 430pm and then finally captain announced we will now be leaving apparently they weren't getting security clearance and all this time we were sitting in extreme heat and no one even asked us if we need any water or anything. Near me there were four washrooms and two of them had an 'inoperable' sticker even before the plane left. One of the passengers during the flight clogged up one of the operational washrooms and the flight attendants had to lock it. The one remaining washroom now had huge line-ups throughout the flight. I was told there were more washrooms in the front and rear but I figured they would have line-ups too. Don't even ask me how disgusting the washrooms were.

Ok it's a 13-14 hour flight, the passengers need to do something to kill the time, but PIA thought why not just make the passengers sleep and the lights were off for majority of the flight apart from during serving food. There was good reason behind it because THE FREAKING FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM WASN'T WORKING.

The PIA staff did not even hand out blankets or anything of that sort and a couple of times I woke up just because it was so cold in the plane and nothing to cover me up.

Now we come to the food, you always heard that no matter how bad PIA service is atleast the food is top notch. Incorrect. The first meal that was served was daal chawal, yes you read that correctly daal chawal, and it was accompanied by some lame chicken salan that wasn't nice at all. The second meal was breakfast with egg omelette, it wasn't so bad. The third meal was a chicken patties and some other snack items. Pretty sure the patties was stale as it gave me diarrhea for my first week in Pakistan. There were no food options and the flight would have been a nightmare for any vegetarian.


Now the return flight is tomorrow and I'm already seriously dreading it.




PIA, never again.

I had a very similar experience. Atrocious isn't strong enough to describe them. I cannot understand why they can't be bothered to fix in flight entertainment. They honestly take each and every one of us for fools and we, by flying PIA, become fools.

That video posted above has just left me gobsmacked.

The only way to stop this is for all Pakistanis to abandon PIA once and for all. I won't be flying with them again. Does anyone know why no other airline does direct flights?

 

[msb314]

Are you even serious? Air China flies over the Pacific and goes to Beijing/Shanghai it'll take me 30 hours to get to Pakistan



Now I know when people say overseas Pakistanis are super ignorant and not in touch with reality.

Thats not such a bad thing if you are single and want to stay a day in Beijing to explore, eat etc.

You can get a 72 - 144 hr transit visa regardless of passport

Fares from Air China are pretty economical too.

 

[sjahmed23]

Pakistan needs to "drain the swamp" in all institues that employ these useless bureacrats whether it be pia, consulates, airports or police. It seems the purpose of their job has changed from serving Pakistani citizens to annoying the hell out of them.

 

[Square Drive]

Flew with them last year. Not nearly as bad as people make it seem.

Staff was good. AC was running. My TV was working. Food portions were good with second servings available.

Kids crying and a couple of men having some beef between them for a bit were the only incidents that took place there, both very normal. There was a 30-60 minute delay but the pilot was amazing both ways, so he made up for it by getting us there in 13.5 hours without any stoppages.

Haters, however, will keep hating, simply because it's a Pakistani airline. If any other western airline gave them these problems, they would gladly sit through it all.

Just putting my experience out there.

If you are patient and greatful, things aren't as bad.

 

[classic]

No other airline I have traveled with has given me such poor service ....repeatedly. It's not that other airlines don't have problems , they do but they learn and take note of what their customers say and improve.

PIA are 'Dheet' they take your money and give you a service you will remember for the rest of your life. I hate it when people say 'oh never mind its our National airline and we must not criticize about it ' . Really !! Please have some standards .

 

[MenInG]

LONDON: British authorities have apprehended a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) crew member after a dozen smartphones were found on him at a London airport, sources informed Geo News Saturday.

Officials UK Border Agency recovered the smartphones from the PIA staffer during random search, the sources said, after which he was taken into custody.

The staffer — a crew member of PIA flight PK-758 — is currently under investigation.

Sources further said the crew member was cooperating with the authorities.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/207953-pi...on-airport-with-12-smartphones-on-him-sources

 

[zn426]

PIA is awful and this is sad. If they just cleaned up the basics they'd at least break even every year. Then every time they bring on good management they waste it (I'm still wondering how Bernd Hildenbrand managed to fly an A310 to germany, really).
There are solutions, but much needs to be done to clean it up. It goes beyond the CEO. Here's my (albeit layperson short term and long term plan).
Short term (3-6 months)
1. Wet lease aircraft from Qatar (they have excess capacity because of the Gulf diplomacy war).
2. Ground all aircraft until they're all fixed and given a full bill of health from a foreign inspector (UK or Singapore would be ideal).
Short/Medium (6 months to 1 year)
3. If there are extra employees who have not worked a day in the last month, fire them. If labor rules make this impossible, loan them out to physical labor or food service projects until they willingly resign and surrender their benefits, or agree to undergo training at a foreign service academy (dubai? Doha? Tokyo? Singapore?). Minimum requirement for the physical work/service work projects to this must be at least six months to make sure they are committed to actually becoming quality employees for PIA.
Medium/Long (1-2 years)
4. As flight crew become available from the training academies, they begin by working on the short haul routes from Pakistan to the Persian gulf. This is the largest market for PIA, and as Pakistani passengers see the benefits in flying PIA instead of one of the Gulf carriers, they will start to rebuild trust in PIA.
Long (2-5 years)
5. Sign code share agreements with the Big 3 American carriers. They may not want to fly here, but they all operate flights to London/Paris/etc. This will help PIA compete with Middle East carriers flying from the US. The American 3 also have no love for the ME3 and a resurgent PIA would give them a competitive option to Pakistan, much like what Delta has done with Jet Airlines in India.
6. Expand the route network to China with leased planes. Competition will be high, but full plane loads, especially with Chinese workers coming to CPEC, will enable PIA to rapidly increase revenue. They may even want to look for contractual arrangements with Chinese companies. It's not like Air China and the other Chinese carriers are flying heavily to Pakistan. Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad should have international flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu.
7. Promote brand Pakistan by marketing eco-tourism flights through the Karakoram range to travelers from Europe/China/Middle East. Tanzania uses a very similar model with safaris from Mt. Kilimanjaro airport-and most of the airlines flying there are from Europe or the Middle East.
8. Reestablish service to the US. Start with NYC (it's shameful that PIA ever gave up that route), then expand to Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.

It's a lot of work, but it CAN be done. There are plenty of opportunities that PIA has an opportunity to grab.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

PIA’s chief operations officer sacked

KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has sacked its chief operations officer, Zia Qadir Qureshi, it was learnt on Saturday.

According to sources, Mr Qureshi was sacked on Friday because he could not perform his duties according to work standards of the PIA. They said he had also failed to achieve objectives for which he had been hired.

Responding to Dawn queries, PIA spokesperson Mashhood Tajwar confirmed on Saturday that Mr Qureshi’s contract had been terminated.

The Auditor General’s office termed Mr Qureshi’s appointment an “undue favour”. It called for the immediate termination of his services and an action against those who had hired him.

The sources said Mr Qureshi, said to be a blue-eyed boy of adviser to the former prime minister on aviation Mehtab Abbasi, was hired on a contract at Rs1.5 million per month on June 5, 2017. Mr Qureshi was just three months short of reaching the age of superannuation (October 2017) at the time of his appointment.

In the termination letter, issued by PIA’s Chief Human Resources Officer Asma Bajwa who herself is a contractual employee, told Mr Qureshi that “continuation of your appointment beyond the age of superannuation in Oct 2017 was subject to bi-annual review of your performance”.

The sources said Mr Qureshi was called twice for performance review meetings but he could not attend them.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1427935/pias-chief-operations-officer-sacked

 

[Bewal Express]

PIA is awful and this is sad. If they just cleaned up the basics they'd at least break even every year. Then every time they bring on good management they waste it (I'm still wondering how Bernd Hildenbrand managed to fly an A310 to germany, really).
There are solutions, but much needs to be done to clean it up. It goes beyond the CEO. Here's my (albeit layperson short term and long term plan).
Short term (3-6 months)
1. Wet lease aircraft from Qatar (they have excess capacity because of the Gulf diplomacy war).
2. Ground all aircraft until they're all fixed and given a full bill of health from a foreign inspector (UK or Singapore would be ideal).
Short/Medium (6 months to 1 year)
3. If there are extra employees who have not worked a day in the last month, fire them. If labor rules make this impossible, loan them out to physical labor or food service projects until they willingly resign and surrender their benefits, or agree to undergo training at a foreign service academy (dubai? Doha? Tokyo? Singapore?). Minimum requirement for the physical work/service work projects to this must be at least six months to make sure they are committed to actually becoming quality employees for PIA.
Medium/Long (1-2 years)
4. As flight crew become available from the training academies, they begin by working on the short haul routes from Pakistan to the Persian gulf. This is the largest market for PIA, and as Pakistani passengers see the benefits in flying PIA instead of one of the Gulf carriers, they will start to rebuild trust in PIA.
Long (2-5 years)
5. Sign code share agreements with the Big 3 American carriers. They may not want to fly here, but they all operate flights to London/Paris/etc. This will help PIA compete with Middle East carriers flying from the US. The American 3 also have no love for the ME3 and a resurgent PIA would give them a competitive option to Pakistan, much like what Delta has done with Jet Airlines in India.
6. Expand the route network to China with leased planes. Competition will be high, but full plane loads, especially with Chinese workers coming to CPEC, will enable PIA to rapidly increase revenue. They may even want to look for contractual arrangements with Chinese companies. It's not like Air China and the other Chinese carriers are flying heavily to Pakistan. Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad should have international flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu.
7. Promote brand Pakistan by marketing eco-tourism flights through the Karakoram range to travelers from Europe/China/Middle East. Tanzania uses a very similar model with safaris from Mt. Kilimanjaro airport-and most of the airlines flying there are from Europe or the Middle East.
8. Reestablish service to the US. Start with NYC (it's shameful that PIA ever gave up that route), then expand to Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.

It's a lot of work, but it CAN be done. There are plenty of opportunities that PIA has an opportunity to grab.

You seem to have fair knowledge of the Airlines business, do you have a background in this?

 

[zn426]

You seem to have fair knowledge of the Airlines business, do you have a background in this?

No experienced background-I'm a CPA in the United States (equivalent of a CA in the UK) who has a passion for aviation and wants to implement outside the box solutions. Many of the things I've suggested here come from an observation of PIA's weaknesses over time through reading and observations of the Pakistani aviation market, as well as other aviation markets. Some of the suggestions are from other industries that fit PIA rather well given the situation.

For example, the idea of physical labor/food service comes from a similar tactic in Japan-if a company wants to get rid of a worker, they place them on make work assignments with no significance to the company until they quit. This is because it is actually very challenging to simply layoff Japanese workers. Given many of the problems with corporate culture at PIA, getting them to resign and surrendering their benefits looks to be the only viable solution.

 

[Savak]

Why not ask Emirates Airline to help and assist in fixing PIA?

PIA should model itself on Emirates airline.

 

[zn426]

Why not ask Emirates Airline to help and assist in fixing PIA?

PIA should model itself on Emirates airline.

Emirates is a vastly different carrier than what PIA has been at every phase of its existence. It was built to turn Dubai into a tourism destination. If you look at their fleets, they have nothing but wide body jets and not only that, they are a statistical outlier with so many A380s-they have 103 of the 222 currently in operation. If any other airline did that, it would be unsustainable given jet fuel prices (the ME3 can get around this because their governments can sell them fuel at lower prices as needed).

PIA has historically made its money bringing overseas Pakistanis back to Pakistan from the US/UK and transiting workers between Pakistan and the Persian gulf. That requires a lot more short haul aircraft (737s and A320 series), and more fuel efficient long haul twin engines for further destinations (i.e. 787 and Boeing 777s) for flights to Europe, North America, and China. There's actually little reason for PIA to operate more than three aircraft types-one long range wide body, one mid-range wide body, and one short range narrow body. It will also require a lot less staff.

 

[KingKhanWC]

I travelled om PIA for the first time in over 10 years.

The first flight was from Heathrow to Karachi. The plane left on time and the staff were polite but the overall condition of the plane was poor. Before landing at breakfast they ran out of juice. The entertainment was broken too.

The second flight from Karachi to Islamabad was interesting as the A/C wasnt working lol . A few people became very angry & exchanged some harsh words with the staff. Ive never travelled on a plane which was so hot.

I dont think ill be using PIA again.

 

[Chikkeh]

Hopefully PTI will look to try and challenge PIA to change for the better. I think if another airline offers a direct route to Pakistan from the UK PIA will be wiped off the map. The only reason myself and family fly with PIA is due to it being the only direct airline flying from the UK to Pakistan.

 

[zn426]

Hopefully PTI will look to try and challenge PIA to change for the better. I think if another airline offers a direct route to Pakistan from the UK PIA will be wiped off the map. The only reason myself and family fly with PIA is due to it being the only direct airline flying from the UK to Pakistan.

We will hope so!

 

[UN talkz]

KARACHI: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has recommended immediate sacking of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) chief executive officer Musharraf Rasool Cyan, terming his appointment an “irregular favour”, it is learnt reliably.

According to the report, the AGP’s office also recommended the recovery of the salary that the CEO received, benefits and tickets used by him as well as an investigation to see if the then prime minister’s adviser, Sardar Mahtab Abbasi, was involved in the “irregular appointment”.

In his report, dated May 7, 2018, AGP official Zeeshan Raza stated that various irregularities were found during the audit of PIA’s Human Resources Department with regard to Mr Cyan’s appointment. He claimed that the application of Mr Cyan was not shortlisted by the Board of Directors.

Musharraf Rasool Cyan may also be asked to return the salary he received

The official said Mr Cyan had worked with Sardar Mahtab Abbasi when he was holding a top post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that Mr Cyan did not have the required experience as per advertisement — graduation with experience in aviation business or a professional or a recognised post graduate.

He added that there were clear discrepancies in Mr Cyan’s date of birth as his CNIC showed Nov 4, 1967 as the date of birth while the date mentioned in the matriculation certificate was March 12, 1967. As per the Personal Policy Manual (PPM) of the PIA, services of a large number of employees have been terminated on that ground.

Contrary to the special government pay in Grade M1 of roughly Rs500,000, Mr Cyan had been drawing Rs2m as salary (Basic pay Rs1.5 million; utilities allowance Rs150,000; house rent allowance Rs200,000; entertainment allowance Rs 100,000; fuel allowance Rs50,000).

His family’s annual entitlement of tickets was 35 where as they had availed 66 tickets — out of which he used 37 tickets while 29 others were for family. An additional 61 tickets were obtained as business travel / tour showing that out of 210 days in service (from Sept 2017 to March 2018) he travelled for 98 days (around 47 per cent of his service).

The advertisement had said that the post was for two years and could be extended but the CEO was given a contract for three years.

“The appointment of Musharraf Rasool Cyan was made totally in violation of SECP guidelines for appointment of chief executive officer”, said the audit report. “The audit is of the view that irregular favour was extended to Musharraf Rasool Cyan for the post of CEO. Audit recommends terminating his services without any further delay. Further, payment of salary, other benefits like car and irregular use of tickets should be recovered immediately,” it added.

The AGP official in his report — copies of which have been sent to the PIA chief human resources officer, the board 6secretary and the chief internal auditor — said that the case should be properly investigated by an independent agency.


https://www.dawn.com/news/1429019/agp-recommends-immediate-sacking-of-pias-chief

 

[MenInG]

https://www.geo.tv/latest/209667-sc-declares-pia-ceos-appointment-null-and-void

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday declared the appointment of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) CEO Musharraf Rasool Cyan as null and void.

A three-judge bench of the top court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a case pertaining to the privatisation of the national carrier.

"Cyan does not meet the requirements to be appointed CEO and thus his appointment is illegal," the bench ruled.

As the hearing went under way, Justice Nisar said, “The matter was left to the cabinet but they have now lost the chance.”

Further, Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked, “As per the initial report, PIA CEO Cyan’s appointment was not according to law and we are looking into it.”

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar added, “We should look over Cyan’s appointment right now.”

However, PIA's counsel Naeem Bokhari argued, "The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has announced a decision in the case and sent it to the cabinet.”

Justice Ahsan then remarked, "The PIA CEO was appointed in violation of guidelines and the then prime minister’s adviser, Sardar Mahtab Abbasi, was involved in his appointment."

"Was Cyan interviewed by a board?" he further questioned. "He had no aviation experience prior to his appointment," Justice Ahsan observed.

To this, the CJP remarked, "PIA is running in losses and should have a CEO who is extremely qualified and experienced."

He added, "Cyan had worked with Sardar Mahtab Abbasi."

After listening to the arguments, the top court declared Cyan's appointment as illegal and declared it null and void.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Passengers stranded at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Toronto?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Toronto</a> Airport due to 12 hrs delay & <a href="https://twitter.com/Official_PIA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Official_PIA</a> didnt bothered to respond to passengers.<br><br>This lady was arrested because she was annoyed by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PIA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PIA</a> Behaviour it usually have for passengers.<br><br>Khan Sb you should take notice of this and get her released ASAP <a href="https://t.co/k9f12tm3c9">pic.twitter.com/k9f12tm3c9</a></p>— Syed Raza Mehdi (@SyedRezaMehdi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SyedRezaMehdi/status/1039203804422524933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Haroon786]

I usually don’t criticise PIA.

But decided to go on PIA this time - no blankets, I could not sleep as I was shaking because of how cold it was.

Food was given without being offered the choice of chicken or lamb.

When I reached at new Islamabad Airport - luggages came after 2.5 hours (2nd day of Eid this was). Had my luggages come on time, I would have been my Grandmother on time in the hospital too. Very unfortunate.

On my way back - the journey was pleasant. The staff was a Peshawar team - very polite and professional and as always landing was soft and smooth.

Sorry to hear about your grandmother.

I've heard that the new Islamabad airport is basically in the middle of nowhere and has been a target of robberies, what was your experience there and how did you feel?

 

[Abdullah719]

Sorry to hear about your grandmother.

I've heard that the new Islamabad airport is basically in the middle of nowhere and has been a target of robberies, what was your experience there and how did you feel?

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?273305 This thread has some info about the new Islamabad airport as well. Some not so flattering reviews earlier, not sure if things have changed in the past couple of months.

 

[Theo_14]

Sorry to hear about your grandmother.

I've heard that the new Islamabad airport is basically in the middle of nowhere and has been a target of robberies, what was your experience there and how did you feel?

Appreciate your kind message.

I felt fine because I landed in daylight. Now with connecting flights, it may be the case that you will land in the evening - and the motorway is pretty much a no man's land since it use to be a village so Haroon I would understand why people can targeted in such situations... However, personally I have not heard of any stories.

The airport's recruitment has finally stepped up and it seems they are recruiting quite a few - few cafes/commercial chains have opened inside the airport too. So progress happening.

I would just say be mentally prepared to wait 1.5-2.5 hours for your luggages. Otherwise, nothing else... I'm going again in December so let's see if we see any developments.

 

[Haroon786]

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?273305 This thread has some info about the new Islamabad airport as well. Some not so flattering reviews earlier, not sure if things have changed in the past couple of months.

Thanks once again.

Whilst it wasn't necessarily what I was looking for, it symbolises that whilst the location and architecture may have changed, the ambience and ethos behind it is still very much the same sadly.

 

[Haroon786]

Appreciate your kind message.

I felt fine because I landed in daylight. Now with connecting flights, it may be the case that you will land in the evening - and the motorway is pretty much a no man's land since it use to be a village so Haroon I would understand why people can targeted in such situations... However, personally I have not heard of any stories.

The airport's recruitment has finally stepped up and it seems they are recruiting quite a few - few cafes/commercial chains have opened inside the airport too. So progress happening.

I would just say be mentally prepared to wait 1.5-2.5 hours for your luggages. Otherwise, nothing else... I'm going again in December so let's see if we see any developments.

Interesting, that would make sense that it's safer during the day. The stories I've heard were during the night.

There seems to be far too much going wrong already, lack of foresight being the main issue. Anyway, as you've mentioned regarding the recruitment increasing and improving as well as food places inside, hopefully other aspects of the airport improve soon too.

Hoping that your experience in December will be a lot more positive InshAllah.

 

[the Great Khan]

Interesting, that would make sense that it's safer during the day. The stories I've heard were during the night.

There seems to be far too much going wrong already, lack of foresight being the main issue. Anyway, as you've mentioned regarding the recruitment increasing and improving as well as food places inside, hopefully other aspects of the airport improve soon too.

Hoping that your experience in December will be a lot more positive InshAllah.

Im going in October so will report about its state..I havent used it yet so this will be my first time..

 

[Syed1]

After the horror show I had during my visit to Pakistan in July-August using PIA, I have now booked tickets with Turkish Airlines for December. Going to Pak twice in one year puts a serious damper on your budget, but I had no choice



Also funnily enough Turkish Airlines being one of the best airlines in the world with excellent service, great on-time record and most importantly functioning washrooms is taking me to Pak during peak season of Christmas-New Year for CAD 1800, while PIA is making the same trip on same dates for CAD 2300. Mashallah long live PIA.

 

[Abdullah719]

Argument between PIA captain, cabin crew delays flight to London

LAHORE: An argument between a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilot and cabin crew became the reason for a three-hour long delay in a flight to London.

The flight captain refused to fly with one particular steward on board as he was involved in a flight smuggling case.

This did not go down well with other crew members who decided to disregard the captain’s hesitance. The cabin crew protested against the captain’s decision and refused to fly if the steward was disembarked.

The flight PK-757 was scheduled to leave at 9:30 am but departed at 12:30 pm.

Passengers present in the flight protested against the delay but were ignored by the airline staff.

PIA authorities said they have ordered an inquiry into the incident.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/20...a-captain-cabin-crew-delays-flight-to-london/

 

[shaaik]

PIA flight delayed after pilot-steward row

LAHORE: A London-bound PIA flight got late for more than three hours on Saturday night when the pilot refused to fly after a physical brawl with a steward whom he suspected as a smuggler.

The situation also brought embarrassment to the PIA administration as footage of the untoward incident followed by the protest of the passengers was run by the electronic media.

According to a source, flight PK-757 Lahore-London was ready for departure at 9pm when suddenly pilot Anwaar Chaudhry asked the other crew members to make steward Awais Qureshi, whom he called a notorious smuggler, leave the aircraft.

Mr Anwaar claimed that in the past Mr Qureshi remained involved in incidents of smuggling during flight duty bringing bad name to the airline.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD

A brawl took place between the two, attracting attention of the other crew members who supported the pilot.

As a result, the source said, the flight got delayed for three hours, sparking agitation from the passengers who stood up and raised slogans against the PIA management.

The source said the matter was brought to the knowledge of the high-ups who intervened to resolve the issue. The flight later departed at around midnight, the source said. The PIA spokesperson confirmed the incident, saying an inquiry had been launched to ascertain facts.

However, he attributed the flight delay to the late arrival of flight PK-710 from Manchester.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1433237/pia-flight-delayed-after-pilot-steward-row

 

[Saj]

A relative of mine has just returned from Pakistan.

He flew with PIA as he was struggling to get tickets for the day that he wanted with other airlines.

His first words were "never again".

He said the flight was delayed without explanation, the plane was old and dirty. The flight was overbooked and there were arguments between passengers and staff. The flight crew were rude and unhelpful.

 

[zn426]

A relative of mine has just returned from Pakistan.

He flew with PIA as he was struggling to get tickets for the day that he wanted with other airlines.

His first words were "never again".

He said the flight was delayed without explanation, the plane was old and dirty. The flight was overbooked and there were arguments between passengers and staff. The flight crew were rude and unhelpful.

Absolutely sad. Old plane cannot be controlled easily but cleanliness and staff quality should be priorities.

 

[jaf348]

A laughing stock and a national disgrace. People from bottom to the top need to be purged. While they're at it, best to rebrand PIA to a different airline.

 

[Realromeo]

LOL I thought Air India was worse. Jet Airways > Air India

 

[Abdullah719]

Air Marshal Arshad Malik takes over as PIA CEO, president

After taking charge as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the national carrier, Air Marshal Arshad Malik has said he is "well aware" of the challenges faced by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a statement issued on Friday said.

Malik served in the Pakistan Air Force for forty years, during which he rose to the rank of Air Marshal.

Prior to joining PIA, he was serving as the vice chief of air staff. He is a recipient of the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (M), Sitara-e-Imtaiz (M) and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (M).

In an opening message to employees of PIA, Malik said that in order to improve the airline, the main points he would work towards were improving overall flight regularity and punctuality as well as improved services for passengers so that the revenue of the airline can be increased.

He said that the aim was to achieve profitability so that the airline's liabilities can be payed off.

Malik added that PIA's system would be "brought at par with best standards and practices in the aviation industry".

The new PIA chief said that the airline's human resources were a "national asset" and there would be no retrenchment.

However, he added, that those found trying to tarnish the image of the airline or Pakistan would not be tolerated.

"It is the duty and responsibility of everyone in the airline to work for the betterment of the airline and there is no doubt that PIA will God-willing achieve great success very soon."

Although PIA was facing financial and administrative problems, Malik said that with his faith in God and on the basis of the principles of the Quaid-e-Azam, he had no doubt that PIA would once again achieve its past glory.

He said that he was grateful to God for receiving the opportunity to serve Pakistan in a new arena as well as to the Pakistani government for showing "confidence in him for the revival and turn around of PIA".

Malik added that although the way forward is difficult it was "certainly achievable".

https://www.dawn.com/news/1441746/air-marshal-arshad-malik-takes-over-as-pia-ceo-president

 

[Bewal Express]

Air Marshal Arshad Malik takes over as PIA CEO, president

After taking charge as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the national carrier, Air Marshal Arshad Malik has said he is "well aware" of the challenges faced by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a statement issued on Friday said.

Malik served in the Pakistan Air Force for forty years, during which he rose to the rank of Air Marshal.

Prior to joining PIA, he was serving as the vice chief of air staff. He is a recipient of the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (M), Sitara-e-Imtaiz (M) and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (M).

In an opening message to employees of PIA, Malik said that in order to improve the airline, the main points he would work towards were improving overall flight regularity and punctuality as well as improved services for passengers so that the revenue of the airline can be increased.

He said that the aim was to achieve profitability so that the airline's liabilities can be payed off.

Malik added that PIA's system would be "brought at par with best standards and practices in the aviation industry".

The new PIA chief said that the airline's human resources were a "national asset" and there would be no retrenchment.

However, he added, that those found trying to tarnish the image of the airline or Pakistan would not be tolerated.

"It is the duty and responsibility of everyone in the airline to work for the betterment of the airline and there is no doubt that PIA will God-willing achieve great success very soon."

Although PIA was facing financial and administrative problems, Malik said that with his faith in God and on the basis of the principles of the Quaid-e-Azam, he had no doubt that PIA would once again achieve its past glory.

He said that he was grateful to God for receiving the opportunity to serve Pakistan in a new arena as well as to the Pakistani government for showing "confidence in him for the revival and turn around of PIA".

Malik added that although the way forward is difficult it was "certainly achievable".

https://www.dawn.com/news/1441746/air-marshal-arshad-malik-takes-over-as-pia-ceo-president

He cant do any worse than the crooks appointed hitherto.

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: A Pakistan Inter-national Airlines aircraft hit a parked plane during routine engine testing near a hangar at Karachi airport on Saturday.

The ATR aircraft was undergoing some repairs at the engineering hangar while the parked plane belonged to a private airline.

Official sources said the aircraft was towed from the hangar and its engines were switched on for testing. While it was moving towards the parking area, its brakes failed and the plane hit a non-functional and parked aircraft of the Shaheen International Airlines.

However, a PIA spokesperson said that during routine engine check-up the plane “slightly hit a salvaged skeleton of aircraft parked nearby” due to which its propeller got damaged. The PIA management did not cite any reason for the incident but said an inquiry had been launched to look into the episode.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1447527/pia-aircraft-hits-parked-shaheen-air-plane-in-karachi

 

[shaz619]

Beyond me why anyone would fly with this airline

 

[shaz619]

KARACHI: A Pakistan Inter-national Airlines aircraft hit a parked plane during routine engine testing near a hangar at Karachi airport on Saturday.

The ATR aircraft was undergoing some repairs at the engineering hangar while the parked plane belonged to a private airline.

Official sources said the aircraft was towed from the hangar and its engines were switched on for testing. While it was moving towards the parking area, its brakes failed and the plane hit a non-functional and parked aircraft of the Shaheen International Airlines.

However, a PIA spokesperson said that during routine engine check-up the plane “slightly hit a salvaged skeleton of aircraft parked nearby” due to which its propeller got damaged. The PIA management did not cite any reason for the incident but said an inquiry had been launched to look into the episode.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1447527/pia-aircraft-hits-parked-shaheen-air-plane-in-karachi

Unbelievable

 

[JaDed]

KARACHI: A Pakistan Inter-national Airlines aircraft hit a parked plane during routine engine testing near a hangar at Karachi airport on Saturday.

The ATR aircraft was undergoing some repairs at the engineering hangar while the parked plane belonged to a private airline.

Official sources said the aircraft was towed from the hangar and its engines were switched on for testing. While it was moving towards the parking area, its brakes failed and the plane hit a non-functional and parked aircraft of the Shaheen International Airlines.

However, a PIA spokesperson said that during routine engine check-up the plane “slightly hit a salvaged skeleton of aircraft parked nearby” due to which its propeller got damaged. The PIA management did not cite any reason for the incident but said an inquiry had been launched to look into the episode.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1447527/pia-aircraft-hits-parked-shaheen-air-plane-in-karachi

[MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] does this happen?

 

[shaz619]

[MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] does this happen?

Maintenance engineers are also meant to be trained to taxi the aircraft into a hangar lol

 

[JaDed]

Maintenance engineers are also meant to be trained to taxi the aircraft into a hangar lol

Lol are you doing aircraft maintenance engineering bro?

 

[shaz619]

Lol are you doing aircraft maintenance engineering bro?

No am more into the design/development/operation side, but I've done some short placements in that area it was quiet interesting. I remember shadowing one of the maintenance engineers in the cockpit while he taxied the aircraft, at the time I didn't know it was a requirement for their role, they have a pretty cool job and love what they do

 

[JaDed]

No am more into the design/development/operation side, but I've done some short placements in that area it was quiet interesting. I remember shadowing one of the maintenance engineers in the cockpit while he taxied the aircraft, at the time I didn't know it was a requirement for their role, they have a pretty cool job and love what they do

Yes ,I find that job very interesting,my uncle has been doing it since early 90swhen airlines boomed, but as per [MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION] it's being oursourced to Lanka nowadays not sure how that works.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary once said: 'Our booking engine is full of passengers who have sworn they will never fly with us again.' I get the feeling that PIA is the same - lots of people say 'never again' yet their planes are, I presume, always packed full anyway. That was also the case with Air India back in the day. To save a few $s people seem to be happy to put themselves through hell.

 

[Gayle_Force]

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary once said: 'Our booking engine is full of passengers who have sworn they will never fly with us again.' I get the feeling that PIA is the same - lots of people say 'never again' yet their planes are, I presume, always packed full anyway. That was also the case with Air India back in the day. To save a few $s people seem to be happy to put themselves through hell.

The thing is with PIA the tickets are generally more expensive (at least for international flights) in comparison to other better airlines like Emirates, Etihad etc. I think the people that fly PIA usually do it to save time as they can fly direct.

 

[Jin Chacha]

The thing is with PIA the tickets are generally more expensive (at least for international flights) in comparison to other better airlines like Emirates, Etihad etc. I think the people that fly PIA usually do it to save time as they can fly direct.

I am always confused by this. At least in the case of flights to UAE, the fares for PIA are very similar or higher than Emirates/Etihad but they almost always seem to be sold out way in advance.

 

[JaDed]

The thing is with PIA the tickets are generally more expensive (at least for international flights) in comparison to other better airlines like Emirates, Etihad etc. I think the people that fly PIA usually do it to save time as they can fly direct.

Yes case is similar with Air India, my assumption here is that govn employees get good deals on these flights, it's called LTC in India.

 

[MenInG]

LAHORE: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) revealed before a Supreme Court bench on Friday that academic credentials of seven pilots of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had been found to be bogus and five of them had not even done matric.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan, a member of the three-judge bench, observed that a non-matric person could not even drive a bus but middle-pass people had been flying aeroplanes, putting the lives of passengers in danger.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing a matter relating to the verification of degrees of pilots and other staff of the national flag carrier.

The CAA legal adviser told the bench that the authority had been facing difficulties in completing the degrees’ verification process due to non-cooperation of educational boards and universities. The counsel said the PIA was also delaying provision of record of its employees, including pilots and cabin crew. She pointed out that cases of 4,321 employees had been verified while 402 were still pending.

A PIA officer told the bench that at least 50 employees had been suspended for not furnishing their documents. The bench directed the CAA counsel to have a meeting in the conference room of the SC with the officials of the PIA, education boards and the universities to sort out the pending cases.

When the bench resumed hearing after a while, the CAA counsel stated that there were only 207 cases left to be verified. She sought more time to do the needful. The CJP accepted the request and adjourned the hearing till Jan 9.

CJP Nisar also modified an earlier order and ruled that the PIA was free to retain or extend services of its contract employees in accordance with the law. He further asked the PIA to submit a list of its all 498 pilots along with their result of licence examination — Airline Transport Passport Licences and Commercial Pilot Licence.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1454236/five-pia-pilots-have-not-even-done-matric-sc-told