PIA does not treat its fare-paying passengers well.
MALVERN, PA, US: This is with reference to Meekal Aziz Ahmed’s article of January 18 titled “A good deal for PIA”. What the writer has said may be true, but he has ignored one important aspect of the state-owned airline: how it treats its fare-paying passengers.
I left Pakistan to live overseas over two decades ago and I have often travelled on PIA when visiting Pakistan. And I have done this not necessarily because I like the airline’s service but more to do with my patriotism and love for my homeland.
My last trip was a flight in December from Manchester to Islamabad and a return flight on January 9. The performance of the flight crew was not very good and the service left much to be desired. The flight to Pakistan was late by over eight hours and for six of these eight hours the passengers were sitting inside the plane. The return flight was four-and-a-half hours late as well.
Compared to this, most private airlines that I have travelled on have newer planes, are punctual and have far better inflight service.
Arshad Majeed
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2011.
