Pakistan

PIA’s newly inducted Airbus A-320 goes operational

Airline's fleet doubles in two years, will increase number of flights to various international destinations

Our Correspondent November 16, 2015

Airline will increase the number of flights to various international destinations, including New York, Kuala Lumpur. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: An Airbus A-320 aircraft of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) became operational on Monday, one of the two planes the national flag carrier acquired earlier this month.

The Boeing 777 will join the fleet later this week after completion of departmental formalities, an official of PIA told media on Monday.

PIA will now have two Boeing 777; three 773; four 772; two A-310; three A-31L; 10 A-320; five ATR-72 and six ATR-42 aircraft in its fleet.

After the induction of two new planes in its fleet, PIA would increase the number of flights to various international destinations, including Toronto, New York, Kuala Lumpur, Jeddah, Dammam, Madina, Beijing and Dubai, he added.

PIA: Two new aircraft to join fleet

The official said the management would add an additional flight to Toronto starting from December, taking the total number of flights to the destination to four per week.

The number of weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur has been increased from five to six; Jeddah from 17 to 21, Dammam from seven to 10, Madina from five to eight, and to Muscat from seven to 11, he maintained.

PIA to lease seven new jets, expand fleet

Similarly, the official said, PIA has started two daily flights from Islamabad to Dubai, in addition to one daily flight from Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.

The number of weekly flights to Beijing, which was increased to three in August, would be taken to four from next month, the official added.

According to the official, the management is planning to acquire more planes on dry lease, taking its fleet to 40 by current year end and 50 in 2016, the first time in the history of PIA, which is running in losses for the past decade or so.

COMMENTS (7)

shaikhmustafa | 8 years ago | Reply @B: agreed they are variants of the same family of B777 airplane, however, 777 is 777-200LR, 772 is 777-200 ER and 773 is 777-300ER. All of these airplanes are distinct in the missions they undertake owing to their fuel burn off, the number of seats they hold. Their maximum take off weights are different as well. Their landing/overflying charges which the aeronautical authorities of different countries charge are distinct, hence they are considered and accounted for differently. I hope that answers your question. Peace Mustafa

B | 8 years ago | Reply "three 773; four 772" Both these planes are variants of the 777. They are not different planes.

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grace | 8 years ago | Reply @usama: Most overseas Pakistanis prefer taking PIA anyways so there is no reason to remind us! Great to hear PIA is improving.

Aslam | 8 years ago | Reply Writer needs to learn the different types of aircraft. He refers to 777, 772, 773 as three different aircraft, although they are all 777s. In fact 777s only come in the 777-200 or 777-300 series, which are sometimes referred to as 772 or 773. It would be more accurate if he had just mentioned all the 777s in one category.

Waseem | 8 years ago | Reply Toronto Islamabad PIA service is pathetic. Please stop disrespecting passengers and work honestly to improve PIA flight services.

Charles | 8 years ago | Reply According to the official, the management is planning to acquire more planes on dry lease, taking its fleet to 40 by current year end and 50 in 2016, the first time in the history of PIA, . Does that make sense to anyone? An airline which has a terrible reputation and bleeds red ink decides it's going to fix it's problems by expanding. Only a govt owned enterprise could get away with such nonsense.

usama | 8 years ago | Reply We pakistanis should support PIA and prefer travelling using our national airline even if the service is not at par with comparison to other airlines

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