ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suffered financial losses to the tune of Rs401 million in Hajj operations 2012, State Minister for Defence Sardar Saleem Haider said on Tuesday.
Answering the question of Begum Najma Hameed in Upper House, he said PIA had quoted Rs108,500 as the fare for the Hajj packages but the Ministry of Religious Affairs had decided to go lower, which resulted in the financial losses.
PIA was recovering from its ailing health. A total of nine aircraft were purchased on dry lease, out of which four will arrive in April, while the remained will by December. PIA had been posting operational profits for the last five years. Currently, PIA has 38 aircrafts out of which 25 planes are in service. PIA had recorded cumulative losses of Rs141 billion from 2002 to 2012.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2013.
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i know someone who works for PIA and was a part of the team responsible for hajj operations. He took his wife, three kids, parents, 2 sisters, 2 brother in laws, 3 nephews along with him for hajj.. the family stayed in Saudi for 10 days on government expense.. and also this was his family's second hajj in 5 years!
Some Facts:
Aircraft to employee ratios: Lufthansa: 127 people per aircraft Singapore Airlines: 140 people per aircraft Emirates Airlines: 314 people per aircraft Pakistan International Airlines: 570 people per aircraft
PIA owns The Roosevelt Hotel (New york) worth around $800 million to $ 1 billion, why they don't sell the hotel and buy some more airoplanes.
What an excuse. I believe those free riding govt. servants have nothing to do with this.
Both management and its Union are responsible for PIA's pathetic performance. On a recent PIA flight from Karachi to Lahore, which has awful/torn carpeting and broken seats I kept wondering if this is appearance of this aircraft then what will be under the floor. I bet maintenance will be lot worse as it is not visible.
What has this new chairman achieved so far? Has he taken any initiate/steps to improve performance and its bottom line. If he has not then he should be kicked out and replaced by someone who can deliver - not someone's relative but a professional manager.
An airline does not want to go healthy as it is hard work. To make it healthy they have to think how best to operate, come up with a strategy, need to see how they overcome the gap between earnings and spend. But they wont put the work in, one because they have been appointed to the positions not because of their competency but because of who they know and secondly why should they work hard to make the airline profitable the govt will transfer the tax payers money to bone idle management and union at the expense of country by borrowing more. The organization is Pathetic Incompetent Awfull which fits appropriately with PIA. If the govt has the interest of the country and the airline in mind than for god sake privatize it.