Glorious past, uncertain future

The decision to sell a strategic stake in our national carrier comes at a time when we have been told that the airline is tottering on bankruptcy. To give credit to the PM, he is trying his best to try and salvage the airline which we are reminded, ad nauseum, was once one of the best in the world.

Earlier, a new management was to take over. The choice of candidates was good especially after the politically connected were shed. But that was not to be. Now comes the sell off. Possibly this too will be challenged in court. But what options do we have now.

No doubt, PIA has a glorious past. The airline was dependable, profitable and its staff was one of the best. Now all that is behind us. What we ask now is what the future holds.

With one of the highest plane-to-employee ratios in the world, PIA became the golden goose for successive governments. People who had no business to be in the aviation sector were given jobs. Promotions were made on personal recommendations. Consultants were hired on astronomical salaries. Those who were sacked earlier were brought back with full back pay. Special assistants drew more salaries and allowances than pilots. And the airline survived on successive government bail-outs.

One must mention that PIA continues to play a role in our lives that no other carrier does. To name a few, only this airline ferries back the dead bodies of Pakistanis who pass away in foreign lands. And only PIA flies to routes that are unprofitable and yet strategic within the country.

PIA is also possibly the only airline that puts up with the kind of behavior some of our fellow countrymen and women indulge in. Routinely, staff on board as well as on ground are threatened and abused. But they carry on. Truly great people to fly with.

On the issue of profitability, if anything, one can wonder how long PIA has been able to survive despite all that has been inflicted. Of course we can thank some of the loyal employees who have helped stay the course.  But at the end of the day, the airline cannot sustain on the goodwill of people. There is internal bleeding. And corruption. Many deals are dodgy – from the choice of aircraft to the chicken served on board flights. Accountability is held hostage by the all-powerful unions.

Logic is defied when almost every flight is full and yet the airline does not make a profit.  Also, why other airlines have been able to take away PIA’s passengers despite offering fares that are usually higher.

One recalls novel attempts by PIA chiefs to regain lost ground. Like that of Captain Aijaz Haroon to go into a code-sharing agreement with Turkish Airlines. In retrospect, that would have helped steer the airline on course. But the most vocal opponents to that deal were those unions who were allied with today’s ruling party. One wonders why they are so quiet now.

Coming back to the decision to sell, many have questioned why we are selling the family silver. And more pertinently who will buy it.  The best option would be for an employee buy-out. But for that to happen, one needs a dynamic leader like Shaukat Mirza, who helped transform Exxon into Engro and then laid the foundations for the company to emerge as one of Pakistan’s only multinationals. In all probability, this won’t happen with PIA.

If we look at recent privatizations of public entities, KESC comes to mind. And if that is the example we are to follow, then it is one we should. Despite all the protests and the whisperings against them, the KESC management has turned around this public utility to a very large extent. Good employees are rewarded, bad employees are laid off. Service has improved by leaps and bounds for those who are willing to pay for it.

Let us hope a similar future of meritocracy lies ahead for the thousands of PIA employees.  It was a sad day for PIA staff earlier this month when one of their jumbo jets – once the pride of their fleet – was sold to junk dealers who will now take it apart piece by piece. One prays the same is not done with the airline itself – sold as junk and taken apart in bits and pieces.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2013.

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