Pakistan

PIA's premier service set to take off

Airline is acquiring four new planes on wet lease which will allow it to operate flights on London’s Heathrow...

News Desk July 26, 2016

A special team of trainers has arrived in Karachi from Sri Lanka which will train the PIA staff and its cabin crew for three weeks. PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan's national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has announced to start a premier service for its passengers from August 14.

In order to launch the new service, the national flag carrier is acquiring four new planes on wet lease which will allow the airline to operate on London’s Heathrow Airport.

“The premium service will better facilitate our customers,” PIA chairman Azam Sehgal told British Broadcaster BBC during an interview.

Further, in order to address frequent grievances of passengers regarding the unprofessional attitude of the staff, the airline has decided to arrange a three-week training of its staff.

PIA's seventy-year-long descent

A special team of trainers has arrived in Karachi from Sri Lanka which will train the PIA staff and its cabin crew for three weeks. “We will also train our cabin crew members who directly deal with the passengers. For this purpose, foreign trainers have arrived in Karachi,” Sehgal said.

PIA has decided to acquire four Airbus A330 planes, without crew members, from the Sri Lankan Airlines and an official statement is likely to made in a couple of days, the BBC said while quoting sources.

The Airbus A330 planes are only two months old and the Sri Lankan airlines is reportedly leasing them out because of deficit. When contacted, the PIA spokesperson refused to comment on the matter.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz also tweeted photos of the new planes, claiming the national flag carrier will soon be at part with the world’s finest airlines.

Debt-hit Sri Lanka carrier to lease planes to Pakistan

New leased PIA planes. Day not far when PIA will be at par with the world's finest airlines IA. That's Nawaz Sharif! pic.twitter.com/OBubZiFt1r
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) July 25, 2016

Due to its deteriorating condition and poor service, news of PIA’s privatisation was making rounds in the national media, however, it seems that arrangements are being made to bring the national airline back on track.

COMMENTS (25)

Ex PIA Passenger | 7 years ago | Reply First and foremost, for a long haul direct flight, PIA needs to ensure that their in-house entertainment is at par with other international airlines along with service quality of their staff. I have traveled on PIA on previous occasions to-from London and each time have had the misfortune of their television sets being 'out of order'!! For someone who does not sleep on an aircraft, having some in-flight entertainment such as TVs in working order is not a lot to ask for considering the premium PIA charges for their direct flights.

Maha | 7 years ago | Reply Not going to use PIA ever again after they cheated on refunds due to their employees strike earlier this year.

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Uncle Tom | 7 years ago | Reply Recently worms were found in the food being served on a PIA flight, in the interest of fairness, Maryam Nawaz Sharif should give her father credit for that too. How about the fact, the last PIA A300 i flew on reeked of sewage smell... was that Nawaz Sharif too??

just_someone | 7 years ago | Reply @Acorn Guts: thank you for your comment, we all know the condition of air india so you indians should be the last one giving advice to us, esp since we dont need your advice to begin with!

abood | 7 years ago | Reply @md.people are ready to pay equal fare as of emirates provided the level of service is improved.pia can make profit too.but the pathetic service pia gives now a days has forced people to fly with emirates etihad and other airlines.

asim | 7 years ago | Reply @Beat Why should she hire? What is her qualification? She doesn't own the country, enough her Dad has the government

Beat the heat | 7 years ago | Reply @sid: PIA needs improvement and it is possible to fix it provided she hire people on merit.

MD | 7 years ago | Reply The real delimma for PIA are not the Aircrafts. Its the intervention of Government for their personal means. Criticisim is always welcome if its followed by healthy suggestions. But people still vote for these. Ask PM to stop intervention of his blued eyes in internal natters. All the things will get bettet themselves

MD | 7 years ago | Reply @abood: Dubai is not the only destination to be served with only filling the aircrafts and still incuring the route losses. Emirates and other gulf carruers are actually dumping their capacity in the market and these are actually highly subsidised airlines. comparing it to PIA, still the airline hasnt recieved single penny for operating flights in war fields to evacuate Pakistanis from Iraq yemen libya. we perform National duties as well which others doesnt. ask your own pakistan private airkines to start service for Gilgit chitral moenjodoro and other destinations. they will not my dear its only PIA

MD | 7 years ago | Reply I am from one of the core planning area of PIA right now. have gone through this article and the readers comments. Unfortunately most of the comments are very true. However to just update you all guys as far as the Ratio of staff to aircraft is not the true picture if you are comapring PIA with other leading Airlines of thevworld. Secondly Premium service is just on paper. No aircraft has arrived till date...and God knows when it will. Misleading information has been shared in Public

sid | 7 years ago | Reply These parasites have yet to send me an email confirmation so that I may add my grandma's loyalty miles. Its been 8 months by the way. Next time she visits, I'll make sure she travels with a civilized airline.

Curious | 7 years ago | Reply I wonder that why Pakistanis don't supports their government like Indians?

abood | 7 years ago | Reply Put it on dubai route.give us better service.we send more remittances than british pakistanis.pia can generate alot if it gives us better service from dubai.fyi the plane never goes empty from dubai even with the worse service thses guys give.

kahnakacha | 7 years ago | Reply Srilankan Airlines was a profitable company, till Sri Lanka's former president fired its chief and appointed a close relative with no experience, to run the airline. Apparently, because former manager of the airlines, refused to move paying first class passengers to economy, to accommodate president's family, coming back from Dubai. A lesson to learn.

Arshad | 7 years ago | Reply PIA was at one point many many moons ago one of the best airlines in the world. The Corrupt officials and incompetent staff dragged it into the ground. Today each of the PIA Planes is being eaten away by over 1,000 workers. There is no way on earth a plane can support that many workers who do not do any work. As long as the customer is not treated with respect and dignity, PIA will be doomed to failure.

Acorn Guts | 7 years ago | Reply ouch, would fly PIA's old rickety 777s over 330s any day.

Shaukat ali | 7 years ago | Reply Is there not one more person curious enough to ask what exactly is premiere service??

JS | 7 years ago | Reply @lbs & @OSD There is something wrong with the tweet..its called nepotism and partisanship; Even if all Airlines in the US are private (which they are not), that does not give mean publicly owned airlines in Pakistan are the property of the ruling family. Thats called corporate governance. Also, from my understanding she is the one who broke this news of the new planes....if she had done this in the US/UK she would have ended up in jail for unauthorised release of material information (insider trading). She should stop pretending like her daddy personally paid for and acquired these planes and then gifted them to the people of Pakistan.

muhammad abbas ahmed | 7 years ago | Reply what about the PIA's Rousvelt Hotel @MaryamNawazS that was supposed ti raise more than billion dollars for PIA. i mean isn't that Nawaz Shariff?

Jadugar | 7 years ago | Reply A good start to the Premier service by PIA would be by "Premier New look" to the Airline, the present look has set an image of Poor service, terrible appearance, and a common believe "Perhaps it has Arrived".....PIA.

Haji Atiya | 7 years ago | Reply I may be wrong, but how is this arrangement a "wet lease" as the article mentions when PIA will ultimately be using its own cabin crew and other personnel. ?

OSD | 7 years ago | Reply @lol: As long as she is not involved in the decision making process or exerting an undue influence (and there is no evidence of that so far in this instance), it is perfectly fine in both legal and ethical terms for her to tweet the photos and comment on this news.

Concerned Citizen | 7 years ago | Reply Until all illegal appointments and the airplane to staff ratio is corrected, PIA can never prosper.

Ibs | 7 years ago | Reply @lol: It's a different situation. All airlines in the US are private. Regardless of who she is, there's nothing wrong in the tweet.

lol | 7 years ago | Reply Err. Have you ever seen a daughter of US president, or UK PM, tweet such thing? or be involved in Govt affairs? They usually do charitable stuff, but, In Pakistan, the family members use public money & then they paint it as if they're doing all those things from their own bank account.

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