PIA strike a boon for foreign, domestic competitors

Strike results in sharp rise in bookings of Shaheen Airwways, Air Blue, Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways.

KARACHI: The strike by PIA employees has resulted in a sharp rise in bookings for the national carrier’s foreign and domestic competitors.

Among the top beneficiaries of the PIA strike are Shaheen Airways and Air Blue, two Pakistani airlines that compete for much of PIA’s busiest domestic routes. Foreign airlines such as the UAE-based Emirates Airlines as well as Qatar Airways have seen a rise in their bookings, coming from some of PIA’s international passengers.

Contrary to some earlier reports, however, prices do not appear to have risen substantially on either the domestic or international flights.

“People are booking much closer to their flight date,” explained Shaheen Siddiqui, a travel agent based out of Karachi. “Flights are cheapest when booked well in advance. Closer to the flight date, prices can rise by as much as 40 per cent.”

Siddiqui said that she had received several requests for refunds from her clients who were not able to fly on PIA flights, particularly passengers who were flying to cities not served by other airlines, such as Sukkur, Multan, etc.

PIA is not the airline of choice for most Pakistanis flying to international destinations. For example, of the 39 weekly flights between Karachi and Dubai, over 30 are operated by Emirates Airlines. Dubai serves as a regional hub which most Pakistanis use when travelling to destinations around the world.

Most of the flights cancelled have been domestic flights. While cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and even Peshawar are served by other airlines, several other places, including major cities such as Hyderabad, Multan and Faisalabad are served almost exclusively by the PIA.

Most of these cities have been completely cut off from air travel over the past three days and do not have any alternatives to the PIA, despite regulations that require domestic airlines to serve non-core destinations.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th, 2011.