Pakistan International Airlines
Corporation, more commonly known as PIA (
), is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan
. It
is the 31st
largest
airline in Asia, operating scheduled services to 23 domestic
destinations and 36 international destinations in 25 countries
across
Asia,
Europe and
North America.
Its main bases are
Karachi
, Lahore
and Islamabad/Rawalpindi
.
The
airline's secondary bases include Peshawar
, Faisalabad
, Quetta
and Multan
, from which it connects the metropolitan cities
with the main bases, the Middle East and
the Far East. The airline is owned
by the Government of Pakistan (87%) and other shareholders (13%).
It employed 18,043 people as of May 2008.
History
'Pakistan International Airlines', or 'PIA' for short, can trace
its beginnings to the days when Pakistan was not an independent
state. In 1946
Muhammed Ali
Jinnah realised the need for an airline network for the forming
country and called upon the help of an industrialist
Mirza Ahmad Ispahani to develop a flag
carrier for the nation.
Meanwhile, an airline called 'Orient Airways', registered in Calcutta
, was formed
on 23 October 1946. In February 1947, the airline brought three
DC-3 airplanes from a company in Texas
, and in May
of that year the airline was granted a licence to fly.
Services
were started in June from Kolkata to Sittwe
and Yangon
. This
was the first post-war airline flight by a
South Asian registered airline company. Two
months after this service began, Pakistan was formed.
Orient Airways began
relief flights to the new nation and, soon after, it moved its
operations to Karachi
, where it
began flights to Dhaka
on June 7,
1954. In addition, the first two domestic routes in
Pakistan were established, from Karachi to Lahore
to Peshawar
, and from Karachi to Quetta
to
Lahore.
The Government of Pakistan, realizing the operation was failing
economically, proposed that Orient Airways merge into a new
national airline. On 11 March 1955, Orient Airways merged with the
government's proposed airline, becoming 'Pakistan International
Airlines Corporation'.
During the same year the airline opened its
first international service, from Karachi to London
Heathrow Airport
via Cairo International Airport
and Leonardo da Vinci Airport
in Fiumicino, Italy
, using the Lockheed L-1049C Super
Constellation. The DC-3s continued operating the domestic
services in Pakistan. In May 1956, PIA ordered two Super
Lockheed Constellations and five
Vickers Viscount 815. In 1959,
Malik Nur Khan was named Managing
Director.
In March 1960, PIA became the first
Asian
airline to use jet aircraft when
Boeing
707 services were introduced .
The aircraft were wet leased from Pan American and in 1961 services
were begun to John F. Kennedy International
Airport
in New York
City
. In 1962, orders were placed for
Boeing 720s,
Fokker
F27s and
Sikorsky helicopters.
One of PIA's Boeing 720s broke a world record that year, when it
flew from London to Karachi non-stop in 6 hours, 43 minutes and 55
seconds during its delivery flight from Seattle, piloted by PIA's
senior Captain Abdullah Baig, a record unbroken to this day.
During
1962, services to East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh
) were proving to be difficult, therefore PIA placed
their Sikorsky S-61 helicopters on
these routes until 1966 when conditions improved.
In 1964
PIA became the first airline from a non-communist country to fly to
the People's
Republic of China
. As the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 broke
out, PIA helped the
Pakistani
forces with logistics and transport. In 1966, the Viscounts
were phased out, substituted by four
Tridents. However, as growth
surpassed the need for these aircraft, they were later sold to
Civil Aviation Administration of China.
The 1970s saw the resumption of transatlantic flights and new
destinations. It once again aided the
Pakistan Army by transporting soldiers to
East Pakistan in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and
lost a couple of its aircraft to
Indian
Air Force fighters..
In 1972 it applied to operate to Libya
and an
agreement was signed with Yugoslav
airline JAT. In 1973,
McDonnell Douglas DC-10s
arrived and were used by the airline before they were replaced by
Boeing 747-200Bs. In 1974 air
freight services started, as well as a cargo service to New York
City under the name, 'Pakistan International Cargo'. In 1975, PIA
introduced new uniforms for air hostesses. These uniforms were
chosen through an open competition, the winning entry was a design
by Sir Hardy Amies who was designer to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
II.
In 1976, leased
Boeing 747-200Bs came
into service. In 1978, the airline bought their first Boeing
747-200BM aircraft.
Also in 1978 the airline provided help to
Somali Airlines, Air Malta and Yemenia and
established a hotel management service in the United Arab
Emirates
. PIA leased two of its own Boeing 720s to
Air Malta during the 70s.
The 1980s began with the opening of a cargo centre in Karachi and
the delivery of a new aircraft,
Airbus
A300B4-203. In 1981, a duty-free sales service was inaugurated.
During 1982, the first C and D checks were carried out on the fleet
in Karachi. In 1984, domestic night coach fare service was
introduced to offer lower prices for low-income passengers. In 1985
the
PIA Planetarium tourist
attraction was inaugurated in Karachi and later in Lahore. In the
same year, five
Boeing 737-300s
joined the fleet making PIA the first Asian operator of such a
type. Two former PIA Boeing 720Bs now form part of the
Planetarium's exhibition at Karachi and Lahore.
In late 1987 and
early 1988, flights were introduced to Malé
and to
Toronto Pearson International
Airport
, respectively. In 1989, the first women
pilots started their career on passenger airplanes.
During June 1991, PIA received the first of six
Airbus A310-300 aircraft on from
Airbus Industrie.
In 1992, flights
started to Tashkent
and in 1993, to Zürich,
Switzerland
. In addition, PIA became a user of the
Sabre,
Galileo and
Amadeus global distribution systems.
During
1994, PIA added Jakarta
, Fujairah
, Baku
and
Al-Ain
to its
destinations. Air Safari flights were launched in the same
year using Boeing 737-300 aircraft over the Karakoram
mountains. In 1995, PIA received a Boeing
747 flight simulation system and a used
Air
France A300 aircraft was bought.
In 1996 the airline
leased Tupolev Tu-154
aircraft, and re-opened services to Beirut
.
PIA only used the
Tupolev Tu-154 for
a short time to deal with the demand during the summer of 1996. In
1999, PIA leased five Boeing 747-300 aircraft from
Cathay Pacific to replace its aging Boeing
747-200M fleet. The aircraft wore a new livery with a handwork
Pashmina tail on white body and large Pakistan titles on the front
fuselage. The livery was applied to some of the fleet during the
90s but due to copyright problems the livery was dropped. The
Boeing 747-300s remained in the new look but with a plain green
tail with PIA titles. The other aircraft in the fleet were
repainted in the 1990s livery.
Expansion
In July 2002, PIA purchased six
Boeing
747-300 aircraft from
Cathay
Pacific, five of which were already on lease with PIA. The
sixth arrived shortly after and PIA operated it mainly on its North
American and European routes. In October 2002, after a period of
ten years without any new order, the airline purchased eight
Boeing 777 aircraft from
The Boeing Company, including three
777-200ER (Extended Range), two
777-200LR (Longer Range) and three
777-300ER versions. PIA was the launch customer
that revived the Boeing 777-200LR project that, until then, only
had three orders by
EVA Air. The first two
Boeing 777-200LR produced were test aircraft used by Boeing, before
they were delivered to PIA.
One of these Boeing 777-200LR was displayed
at the Paris
Airshow
during 2005.
During 2004, PIA took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200ER
aircraft in January. On delivery of the first three Boeing
777-200ERs the airline introduced a new aircraft livery, which was
later applied to the majority of the fleet. PIA also acquired six
half life
Airbus A310-300/ET from the
Airbus management on a ten year lease agreement. On 3 November 2005
PIA signed an agreement with the aircraft manufacturer,
ATR to purchase seven
ATR42-500. The aircraft were purchased to replace the
aging F-27 aircraft. The seven ATR aircraft were delivered between
2006 and 2007. On 6 December 2005, PIA leased an additional new
Boeing 777-200ER from the
International Lease
Finance Corporation (ILFC). The aircraft had the same
specifications as the previous Boeing 777-200ER that PIA operated.
The aircraft was delivered in January 2007 on ten year lease to the
airline.
On 25
February 2006 Boeing delivered its first 777-200LR Worldliner to
PIA, where it flew from Everett
to Islamabad via Manchester
, England
. PIA started non-stop flights from Toronto
to Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore from 3 March 2006
taking advantage of Boeing 777-200LR's long range
capability. PIA planned non-stop flights to New York City and other US cities with sizable Pakistani
population centres, but was not given permission due to security
reasons. On 31 May 2006, PIA took delivery of its first ATR
aircraft from Toulouse, France. On December 23, 2006, PIA took
delivery of its first
Boeing
777-300ER. After the arrival of a second
ATR
42-500, PIA has ceased using military
Lockheed C-130 Hercules for passenger
services in the north of Pakistan. The military planes were being
used after the
Fokker F27 fleet was
grounded due to a fatal crash in July 2006.
On 5
March 2007, the European Commission
, following an on-site visit , banned all but eight
planes of PIA's 44-plane fleet from flying to Europe citing safety
concerns. PIA was included in the
List of air
carriers banned in the European Union. The remaining eight,
namely the fleet of
Boeing 777s, has been
exempted from the ban. PIA claims that this is discriminatory and
the bans are not justifiable. On 26 March 2007, Tariq Saeed Kirmani
resigned after severe pressure from higher authorities because of
the EU ban. Zafar Khan was appointed as the new chairman of
Pakistan International Airlines. A team from the European Union
visited Karachi in July 2007, to check the condition of the planes
and review the ban. On July 5, 2007, the EU lifted the restriction
on 11 aircraft that PIA could fly into Europe, of which five were
Boeing 747-300s and six
Airbus A310-300s. . On November 29, 2007,
The EU completely lifted the ban on PIA.. In the same year, PIA
signed a lease deal for seven new
Airbus
A320-200 from Kuwait based leasing company
ALAFCO, the factory built aircraft were to be
delivered between 2009 and 2010, however the deal however was
cancelled in 2008 due to various factors.
During April 2009, the management decided to launch a long-term
‘Business Plan of PIA’ including purchase of new aircraft with
details of the plan being finalised. According to sources,
proposals for the purchase of new aircraft are under consideration
and will only be confirmed after approval by the competent
authority.
Privatisation
PIA is owned by the government of Pakistan. In the late 1990s, the
Government of Pakistan considered selling the airline to the
private sector due to the persistent losses suffered by the
airline. The Government announced the privatisation plans but they
were never implemented. Several steps towards outsourcing of
non-core business have been initiated. Catering units (starting
with Karachi Flight Kitchen), ground handling (starting with ramp
services) and engineering, are to be gradually carved out of the
airline and operated as independent companies. During 1997,
Pakistan called in a team from
International Finance (IFC), the
consulting arm of the
World Bank, to
advise on restructuring and privatisation of Pakistan International
Airlines (PIA) however no agreement was reached. The government has
many times planned the privatization of the State owned. however as
of yet no reasonable agreement or solution has been found. On
February 18, 2009 the carrier was dropped from the privatisation
list.
Financial performance
The profitability of PIA as
published in the 2008 annual report by Pakistan
International Airlines Corporation with figures in millions of
Pakistani Rupees. The following table suggests the key financial
results for the end of year period of the financial year. PIA
explains that the loss was caused by two key exogenous factors that
caused the continued loss in PIA's profitability: the weakening of
the Pakistani rupee and the rise in crude oil prices during
2008.
Operating Performance
| Year |
Revenues Rs Millions |
Profit/(Loss) Rs Millions |
| 2008 |
89,202 |
(35,880) |
| 2007 |
70,481 |
(13,339) |
| 2006 |
70,587 |
(12,763) |
| 2005 |
64,074 |
(4,412) |
| 2004 |
57,770 |
2,307 |
| 2003 |
47,788 |
1,299 |
Destinations
Codeshares
PIA have
code share agreements with the
following carriers at August 2009 :
^
Sky Team member
^^
Star Alliance
member
Passenger operations
PIA offers a three class configuration on its domestic routes which
include Business Plus, Economy Plus and Economy. However on their
international flights a two class configuration, Business Plus and
Economy, has remained popular. According to the Annual Report 2007,
PIA recorded a seat factor of 69%, a percentage drop from 2006. PIA
Business Plus passengers are offered flat bed seats on all Boeing
777 as well as select Airbus A310 aircraft. Newspapers and
magazines are available to all Business Plus and Economy Plus class
passengers on PIA flights. Free newspapers are also provided to all
Economy class passengers. The PIA in-flight magazine, Humsafar
(Urdu for "travel companion"), is provided to all passengers on all
international flights. Humsafar was introduced on PIA flights in
1980 and is printed and published in-house on a bi-monthly basis.
PIA Awards Plus+ is the
frequent flyer programme. The
programme allows passengers to get free tickets, excess baggage
vouchers, cabin upgrades, and a variety of rewards, special deals,
and discounts with programme participants. Awards Plus+ offers
three tiers of membership to frequent flyers - Emerald, Sapphire
and Diamond. Awards Plus+ miles can be earned by flying PIA, and by
using the products and services of PIA's partners. PIA Catering are
the main suppliers of meals for the airline. They can produce
15,000 passenger meals each day. However since 2006, the management
control of the flight kitchens has been given to
Singapore Air Terminal
Services (SATS). PIA Catering also provide special meals to
allow for passengers' dietary and religious needs.
Fleet
Pakistan International Airlines fleet includes the following
aircraft (as of November 2009):
Fleet orders
In May 2009, PIA tendered for short term, wet lease, of three
Boeing 737-300 aircraft, to be added to the fleet from July .
During
June 2009, PIA entered final discussions with Airbus and Boeing at
the Paris Air
Show
for a new order of 27 narrow body A320 or 737
family aircraft, for the airline .
Livery
In December 2003 PIA introduced a new image that was applied to
their first
777-200ER and on two leased
A310-300s one of which was in service. The livery was white at the
front and beige at the rear separated by a dark green stripe. The
tail was painted white with PIA written in dark green. PAKISTAN was
added to the front fuselage and the engines where painted beige.
The PIA written in calligraphic urdu was added just behind the
cockpit. However, due to negative critisism the design was modified
before the first Boeing 777 was delivered. PIA and Boeing decided
to replace the tail with a flowing Pakistan flag on a beige
background. PAKISTAN titles were removed and the PIA acronym was
enlarged and moved onto the fuselage. The engines and urdu PIA
remained the same. The leased A310s and most of PIA fleet also
adopted this livery at a later date.
The return of the flag tail saw then
end of the provincial special schemes since their maintenance was
too costly.
In early 2006 the airline launched four new tail designs for its
fleet.
The tails represented the four provinces of
Pakistan: Sindh
, Punjab
, North-West Frontier Province
and Balochistan
.. The tails were to promote the different
cultures of the four provinces of Pakistan by applying motifs to
the tails and adding a city name to the rear of the fuselage
corresponding to the province. The "Frontier" tail represented the
"Phulkari" (flowering) pattern that reflected a rich and colourful
tradition of embroidery generally done on shawls, shirts and linen.
The "Punjab" tail was loosely related to the exquisite tile
decoration of the
Wazir Khan
Mosque in Lahore. The "Balochistan" tail was striking and
colourful reflection of robust creativity seen in the kilims,
carpets and rugs woven with wool, goat or camel hair and mixed
yarn. The pattern is mostly bold geometric motifs in primary
colours dominated by red. The "Sindh" tail was influenced from the
Hala tile work with electric blue and white floral patterns.
In 2008 management stopped the application of provincial tails
deeming them too costly and decided to restore the flag tail design
introduced on the first Boeing 777 in 2003. Since April 2009, A310s
(AP-BEB and BEU) have been repainted with the flag, it is not known
wether remaining fleet with get them, as some aircraft are carrying
on with province designs, despite having undergone heavy
maintanence where the entire aircraft is repainted.
Cargo operations
PIA also operates an extensive cargo delivery system within
Pakistan. During the early 1970s, PIA operated a service called
"Air Express" that delivered documents and parcels from one airport
to another. Pakistan International Cargo was started in 1974 using
two
Boeing 707-320C, with services to the
Middle East and
Europe. The operations ended in the late 1990s when
both aircraft were grounded. PIA Cargo transports a range of goods
across Pakistan as well as to international destinations. These
include meat and vegetables, textiles, paper products and
laboratory equipment.
In 2003 PIA launched "'PIA Speedex'", a courier service in Karachi,
Lahore, and Rawalpindi/Islamabad; expanding within a year to 12
cities. Today, the airline offers over 70 locations within
Pakistan, with shipments collected and delivered from customers'
homes.
From 2004 to September 2007, PIA Cargo
operated two Airbus A300 Freighter
aircraft chartered through MNG Airlines
to Haan
and
Luton
; initially these also operated to Amsterdam
, Basel
and
Cologne.
Marketing and sponsorships
- Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) supports a first-class cricket team that plays
in the ABN AMRO Patron's Trophy in Pakistan.
- PIA is also sponsoring the Pakistani team for the A1 Grand Prix.
- PIA also promotes the Shandur Polo Gala, that takes place every
year in the Chitral and Gilgit regions of northern Pakistan during
the summer period.
- PIA is one of the official sponsors of the "Destination
Pakistan 2007" festivals.
- PIA also has its own Boy Scouts Association (PIA-BSA) working
in partnership with Pakistan Boy Scouts
Association. After the earthquake, PIA-BSA was working in
partnership with other charity organisations to provide relief
help.
- PIA
Planetariums located in Karachi and Lahore are owned by
PIA, which enable the public to see static aircraft as well as
astronomy shows.
- PIA Horticulture, set up in 1996,
provides flowers for display in PIA's offices and for a range of
events, winning several awards and accolades at flower exhibitions
across the country.
- PIA also supports non-profit organisations within Pakistan such
as; Al-Shifa Trust, Zindagi Trust,
The Citizens Foundation and
Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT).
- PIA teamed up with the fast-food francise, McDonalds, to offer passengers discounts on meals
and upgrades.
Achievements and recognitions
PIA were the first Asian airline to
receive the Boeing 737-300
- First airline from an Asian country to fly the Super Constellation.
- First Asian airline to operate a jet
aircraft.
- First Asian airline to be granted maintenance approval by the
US Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and the Air Registration Board,
predecessor of the British Civil Aviation
Authority (CAA).
- First
non-communist airline to fly to the People's Republic of China
, and
operate a service between Asia and Europe via Moscow
.
- First airline in Asia to induct the new
technology Boeing 737-300 aircraft.
- First airline in the world to operate scheduled helicopter
services.
- First airline to show in-flight movies on international
routes.
- The first airline in South Asia to
introduce auto-ticketing facility.
- The
first airline in the world to fly to Tashkent, capital of the newly independent state of Uzbekistan
.
- First
Asian airline to start flights to Oslo
, the
capital city of Norway
.
- First airline in the world to take delivery of the Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner (Longer Range
Variant).
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight Services Department was awarded the ISO 9001:2000 certification award during May 2006.
- First airline in Pakistan to operate a flight with an all
female crew at command and in the cabin.
- First airline in the world to operate the Boeing 777-200ER,
777-200LR and 777-300ER altogether - all the three variants
available on the market at the time.
- PIA Flight Kitchens in Karachi were awarded the HACCP Certification.
- PIA was given three awards in 2008: The "Brands of the Year"
Award, "Consumers Choice Award" and "One The Best Airlines Award
(Cargo)".
Special operations
Charter services
PIA
operates private charter flights using ATR 42s to Kadanwari
and Sewan Sharif gas field in Sindh as well as
to other parts of the country on behalf of oil and gas
companies. Ad hoc charters for
United Nations peacekeeping troops are also
carried out to Africa and Eastern Europe using Boeing 747s.
Hajj and Umrah operations
PIA
operates a two-month (pre- and post-) Hajj
operation each year to and from Jeddah
and
sometimes Madinah
in Saudi
Arabia
. PIA transports over 130,000 intending
pilgrims each year from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad
, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad
, Multan
, and
Sukkur
to the
Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. In
order to deal with the demand, the airline leases many different
aircraft including
Boeing 747-200s,
Airbus A321s,
Airbus A300B4s and
Boeing
737-400s.
State Officials transportation
PIA has been continuously serving government officials of Pakistan,
mainly President of Pakistan and Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Military and Judicial personnels also enjoy huge discounts on PIA
flights. PIA has always transported the President and Prime
Minister of Pakistan on overseas visits. During the late 1990s, a
PIA
Boeing 737-300 was used for official
visits by the Bhutto and Sharif governments. The aircraft wore
official government colours but was later repainted in the airline
official colours at the end of the decade. When the government
changed after a military coup in 1999, the Boeing B737 was
transferred to PIA permanently. The President and Prime Minister
then resorted to using two of PIA's
Airbus
A310-300 for official visits, while rare trips were done on
regular commercial flights of the airline. In February 2007 the
government of Qatar gifted one of their VIP fleet
A310 to the Pakistani government, this has ended
the need for use of PIA aircraft. However, from time to time the
government uses the airline's Boeing 737 or Airbus A310 for
official trips.
Incidents and accidents
Since it began services, seven Pakistan International Airlines
flights have crashed. PIA has a record of 5.00 fatalities per
million flights.
The memorial tablet placed at the
crash site in Cairo for those who died on PIA Flight 705 on May 20
1965.
- In March 1981 a PIA jet was hijacked to Kabul.
- PIA Flight 544
was the flight number of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
Fokker F27 that was hijacked on 25 May 1998. All passengers
and crew escaped unhurt during the incident.
See also
References
- " Contact Us." Pakistan International Airlines.
Retrieved on 4 August 2009.
- The Evolution of The Pakistan Army By Brig. (Ret.)
Noor A. Husain
- Aircraft Losses In Pakistan -1971 War (PAF, Army
Aviation, and Civilian aircraft Casualties) - by P V S Jagan
Mohan
- PIA in the old days History of PIA, assessed
03-02-2009
- EC inspects CAA operation
- Restrictions force PIA to suspend Frankfurt
flight
- E.U. to ban PIA
- EU banes Pakistan airline flights - BBC News - Obtained March 5,
2007.
- Pakstrategy: EU Lifts ban on Eleven PIA
Planes
- EU Lifts ban on PIA Brecorder
Newspapers, Accessed December 1, 2007
- Long-term ‘Business Plan of PIA’ being
finalised Daily News, Released on 2009-04-29. Accessed
2009-04-30
- PIA privatisation Flight International
Magazine, printed 01-01-1997, assessed 09-03-2009
- Pak Steel, PIA dropped from privatisation list
The News, Jang Newspapers Published 18-02-2009, assessed
09-03-2009
- PIA moves towards Global Alliances Pakistan
International Airlines Press Release, assessed 03-04-2007
- PIA Annual Report 2006-2007
- About PIA - Flight Kitchens
- PIA website: About Fleet, [1],
[2]
-
http://www.piac.com.pk/PIA_Business/tenders/TenderWetLease_03JUN2009.pdf
-
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/06/17/328381/paris-air-show-pia-in-final-discussions-with-airbus-and-boeing-for-major-narrowbody.html
- PIA launches four new tails
- PIA - Cargo
- Enjoy the spectacular shandur Polo Gala
2007-07-07
- PIA: Make Pakistan Your Next Destination,
2007
- Corporate Social Responsibility within PIA
- PIA & McDonalds Alliance Deal for Ramadan
-
http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/index.cfm?content=modelselection.cfm&pageid=m15525
- Select "current model series" option, then select "777-200LR"
from the drop-down menu to view report for all 777-200LR
deliveries.
- PIA’s Flight Kitchen Karachi Awarded HACCP
Certification
- PIA Annual Report 2008-2009 PIA Press Releases,
Accessed 2009-05-02
- "AP-BEH" PIA B737 in Government Colours
- Airliners.net: Pakistan Air Force A310-304
-
http://books.google.com/books?id=VMmV_-aPtf0C&lpg=PA108&dq=kabul%20hijacking%20pia&lr=&pg=PA108#v=onepage&q=kabul%20hijacking%20pia&f=false
External links
- Official
- Unofficial
was an Airbus
A300B4-203, registration AP-BCP, which
crash on approach
to Kathmandu
's Tribhuvan International
Airport
on 28 September 1992. All 167 on board were
killed.
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
