Five 737-800s: PIA aircraft lease deal smells foul

Since ppp came to power everything smells foul

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No leasing company actually owns the aircraft they manage leases, owners can be different. It is standard. Who writes all this junk in newspapers in pakistan. Has the deal been signed? Lease amount doesnt seem bad at all based on country risk and if it is latest vintage. As for the money being paid…. it seems three months rental has been paid… sounds familiar. In my view other than commissions nothing looks too much of a fowl. Brother no one in the world will ever lease an aircraft to you from West due to country risk. I am involved in this business and i know what are the perils of getting aircraft into Pakistan as we are in same bracket as of Afghanistan so best way to get aircraft is only through ME companies. you can doubt the company and commissions but you cant doubt anything else. Jet will never tell you if their aircraft are on lease return and as far as the rental is concerned if the aircraft vintage is 2005 or better its not so bad either.

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Looks like ET is the one at fault here. Your investigation has turned up nothing. Obviously you are mistaken.

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Every one in Pakistan knows too much about PIA, except PIA management.The mother of all ills in PIA is government interference???? As about corruption,it is a life style in Pakistan & has permeated the soul of the nation,hence,cannot be taken out of it.The new CO should have an in depth inquiry conducted against the last three MD’s tenures to know astounding facts about what corruption means?

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If the aircraft pay for themselves through the business they are being leased for, then its all right. But most likely with PIA’s track record this too will be borne by the tax payer in the end and by that time all involved will be in Houston, Dubai, London etc.

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Just for information 737 are obsolet aircrafts very expensive to maintain .The word over Airlines are opting for Airbus 320 for lease .

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Criticism for the sake of Criticism . . . . KAASH, we start to applause those who are endeavoring to put the things right in the PINDORAA BOX of PIA. Just a few weeks back, PIA was seemingly being bankrupted, every flight was getting late, banns were being imposed by IASA & other and PIA flights were almost stopped to operate in the America/Canada. And now when the things seems changing, something good must be going inside the PIA. Core management must be planning high to bring the Airline to surface initially and later develop into a regional giant Airlift (passenger & cargo) Carrier.
I happen to know people who were in the technical as well as the financial bid opening that took place in the Headoffice PIA right infront of the Chairman PIA & all office representatives including the PPRA, PLPA, BIDDERS, PIA Management concerning the lease process etc were in attendance. AIRSPEED CHARTER being the lowest bidder was given a fair chance to prove its worth and bring in best aircraft available in the aviation market at the best price without any corruption.
To my knowledge PLPA & PPRA offcials along with all others were satisfied with the fair conduct of the BID process.
As a Qaum we have learnt just to do Criticism for the sake of Criticism.

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@Rizwan:

You are completely mis-informed. The 737 is the best-selling aircraft in the world. Their newest version is the -900ER which I flew on to Islamabad recently operated by Turkish Airlines. The -800 that PIA is supposed to lease is a modern aircraft with sophisticated avionic systems. I am less excited about the -400 version since that is a bit old but still better (and more fuel efficient) than the -300 that PIA has operated for decades. They need to be phased out.

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Six years ago, Indigo airlines, New Delhi created world record by booking 100, A320 aircraft with Airbus industries at rock bottom rates. While taking delivery (one every month) the planes are sold at a profit to finance companies and then taken back on lease. This is an excellent business model, as profits on sale of aircraft improves cash flows and bottom line, due to which, they were not bleeding, while all others were, when the petrol prices were sky high. About a year ago, Indigo has again booked 180 aircraft with Airbus. Other airlines in India are likely to follow this method. Airlines like GOAIR India return the aircraft during lean period and take them back when the season picks up. PIA can follow the above business model. Alternatively, they can lease planes directly from Gulf based airline companies or airlines of any other country who have surplus aircraft and not from any middlemen.

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Another day, another corruption

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@Rizwan:

So why do Ryanair operate over 300 of these aircraft? Why have United and American airlines recently each ordered over 100 of these aircraft?

The 737-800 actually has a lower per-seat operating cost than a320.

As an airline pilot myself I have flown this aircraft and it is a fantastic aircraft!

Kindly please do your research before posting such baseless comments.

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on one hand you want to do business with India. on the other- you crib when India makes money.Recommend

People don’t seem to be satisfied in any condition. Over the last few years every other person has complained how the standard of the national carrier has deteriorated, planes are old, the service isn’t up to mark. Yet now when the airline is finally taking some adequate steps to improve its self some people just have to cause problems. Maybe what the author says is correct, maybe there is some corruption in this deal but whats important is that the airline is finally getting some newer planes. Its necessary considering how maintaining the current fleet has become a dilemma. The 737s that PIA currently owns are over 25 years old and need immediate replacement. The decision to opt for 737-800 is perfect because the crew, engineering staff would not require any significant training and if PIA saves a few million here its worth it. As for the “hurry PIA is in”, its simply because the haj season begins next month and the airline dose not have enough planes to cater to it due to the ongoing issues thanks to the previous management and everyone is aware of the catastrophic season last year.
Therefore, now is not the time for complaining and just let them go ahead with their plans. And my message is specially for mr.Gillani of Transparency International. The airline has already had enough hold backs in fleet expansion, please don’t cause anymore.

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Well I’ll not be surprised if it turns out to be true. If the guy can make couple of million dollars in the jf-17 deal these are commercial jets….at least nothing is at stake in this case ;)

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@Was A Pakistani:

well, unfortunately the commonality between PIA’s -300 and the -800 is not as much as we are touting here. The -300 is the old analog cockpit; the -800 is very much “glass”. Takes some getting used to. And of course they fly differently.

In the case of the Airbus, the cockpits are identical — from the baby A318 all the way up to the super-jumbo, the A380.

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@ET: At least put the correct picture of the aircraft that is being debated. The article incorrectly shows a picture of a PIA Boeing 777.

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This smells so strongly of something that could only be called corruption that I am not accusing anybody. However, this could very well be the UK/US/ZION or several other countries as well as Pakistan. When this sort of thing happens in the UK the perpetrators usually get a knighthood. .

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I think a lot of people are missing the point here. Were the rules bent to accommodate Airspeed Charters for leasing the aircraft ? Of course they were, as it is a pre-requisite that companies should own the aircraft they are leasing. Clearly AC does not do that. That’s the first thing that is setting off alarms. I could go on but why bother ? The public is equally uneducated about these matters.

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