PIA raises $130m in fresh financing

‘Financing facility was arranged by UBL and Credit Suisse Singapore in addition to state-run NBP’

KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said Monday it has raised $130 million in fresh financing from a banking consortium, as the national flag carrier staggers under the weight of earlier loans totalling more than $3 billion.

According to a statement, the financing facility was arranged by United Bank Limited (UBL) and Credit Suisse Singapore as lead bankers, in addition to the state-run National Bank of Pakistan.

"The (financing) facility... will be utilised by PIA for its general working capital requirements and in improvement in passenger services," the communiqué said. However, a PIA official requesting anonymity said the fresh loan might be utilised to help settle earlier loans.



PIA's cumulative loans stand at around Rs329 billion, or $3.16 billion. It suffers heavy financial losses annually, posting Rs32 billion loss in 2015.

The federal government tried to privatise the airline earlier this year but its 18,000 employees fiercely resisted. Two employees were killed in February as police tried to clamp down on protesting employees outside the airline's head office in Karachi.

30% discount on late night domestic flights

Meanwhile, the state-run airline has announced a 30% special discount on its late night flights (between 0000 to 0600 hrs), a statement said.

A spokesperson said the discount on late night flights would be on selected domestic routes between Karachi-Lahore, Karachi-Islamabad, Karachi-Multan and Karachi-Faisalabad, effective from Monday, November 28, 2016.