Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines
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| Founded | 29 October 1946 (as Orient Airways) | ||||||
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| Hubs | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | PIA Awards Plus | ||||||
| Subsidiaries |
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| Fleet size | 32[1] | ||||||
| Destinations | 56[2] | ||||||
| Parent company | Aviation Division (Pakistan)(Government of Pakistan)[3] | ||||||
| Headquarters | Karachi International Airport Karachi, Pakistan | ||||||
| Revenue |  ₨94.738 billion (US$670 million)(1H 2019)[4] | ||||||
| Operating income | ₨-13.519 billion (US$−96 million) (1H 2019)[4] | ||||||
| Net income | ₨-5.282 billion (US$−37 million) (1H 2019)[4] | ||||||
| Employees | 14,800+ (2018)[5] | ||||||
| Website | piac.com.pk | ||||||
Pakistan International Airlines (Urdu: پاکستان انٹرنیشنل ایئر لائنز; PIA, Urdu: پیآئیاے) is the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. Its main hub is Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, while Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, and Islamabad International Airport serve as secondary hubs.
PIA was founded on 29 October 1946 as Orient Airways, and was initially based in Calcutta, British India before shifting operations to the newly independent state of Pakistan in 1947. Orient Airways was nationalised and merged with the new PIA in 1955 to form the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC).[6] The new airline commenced international services in 1955 to London, via Cairo and Rome.[7] PIA became the first Asian airline to operate jet aircraft with the induction of the Boeing 707 into commercial service on 7 March 1960,[8][9][10] and later in 1964 became the first non-communist airline to fly to China.[11] The airline played a vital role in the establishment of Emirates airlines in 1985.[12] In 2004, PIA become the launch customer of the Boeing 777-200LR,[13][14] and on 10 November 2005 used the Boeing 777-200LR to complete the world's longest nonstop flight by a commercial airliner - a flight which lasted 22 hours and 22 minutes on the eastbound route between Hong Kong and London.[15][16]
PIA is Pakistan's largest airline and operates a fleet of more than 30 aircraft. The airline operates nearly 100 flights daily, servicing 18 domestic destinations and 25 international destinations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.[2] In addition to commercial flight operations, PIA also owns The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, and the Sofitel Paris Scribe Hotel in Paris.[17] The airline operates a frequent flier programme, PIA Awards +, and has several codeshare and interline agreements, but is not part of any airline alliance.
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
Pakistan International Airlines can trace its origins to the days when Pakistan had not yet come into existence following the end of the British Raj and the Partition of British India. In 1945, the country's founder Muhammed Ali Jinnah realized the need for a flag carrier for the prospective country and requested financial help from wealthy businessmen Mirza Ahmad Ispahani and Adamjee Haji Dawood for this purpose.[18] As a result, the new airline Orient Airways Limited, was registered in Kolkata (then known as Calcutta) on 23 October 1946.[18] Orient became the first and only Muslim owned airline in the British Raj.[19][20]
In February 1947, the airline bought three Douglas DC-3 aircraft and obtained a licence to fly in May of the same year.[18] The airline started its operations on 30 June 1947, offering services in British India from Calcutta to Sittwe and Rangoon (present-day Yangon).
Post-independence[edit]
On 14 August 1947, Pakistan gained independence and Orient Airways started relief operations for the new country. The airline was entrusted with the task of servicing air routes between East and West Pakistan.[18] By 1949, Orient acquired 3 Convair CV-240s to service the Karachi-Delhi-Calcutta-Dhaka route, and became the first Asian airline to operate Convair aircraft.[18]
1950s[edit]
Orient's traffic continuously declined until 1953 as Britain's BOAC had been granted rights to carry passengers between the two wings of Pakistan, while two other local competitors also began serving Orient routes.[18] As a result of losses, the Pakistani government began subsidizing Orient's operations through a 1952 contract for the purchase of 3 Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations registered to the government's newly established subsidiary, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), at a cost of 25 million rupees.[18] PIA had been established as a department of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, and was tasked with operation and maintenance of the new Lockheed aircraft.[18]
Pakistan's government established the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation through the merger Orient Airways with Pakistan International Airlines on 1 October 1953 by an interim joint operating agreement in which the government assumed financial control of the airline, while Orient's operations and ground assets could be complemented by the aircraft of Pakistan International Airlines - although Orient Airways continued to operate under its name for a few more years.[18]
Pakistan's Ministry of Defence took over operations from the Civil Aviation Authority in early 1954, while the chairman of Orient Airways became the CEO of PIA, and foreign staff brought in to help relaunch the airline.[18] On 7 June 1954, Orient Airways began nonstop flight services between East- and West Pakistan, with service from Karachi to Dhaka using Pakistan International Airlines' Lockheed aircraft that had been ordered in 1952 and delivered in early 1954. The route was subsidized by the government so that middle class Pakistanis could afford to fly the route, with rates that may have been the lowest in the world at the time.[18] The airline also introduced two new domestic routes: Karachi–Lahore–Peshawar and Karachi–Quetta–Lahore.
On 11 March 1955, Orient Airways and Pakistan International Airlines were formally merged as part of the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Ordinance, 1955, and Orient Airways ceased operations while the government of Pakistan took a majority holding in the airline.[18] The new PIA had a fleet of 3 L-I049C Super Constellations, 2 Convair CV-240s and 11 DC-3s.[18]
The newly relaunched airline also inaugurated its first international route, Karachi-London Heathrow Airport[21] via Cairo and Rome, using the newly acquired Lockheed L-1049C Super Constellations. The airline continued using DC-3s on domestic routes in Pakistan. PIA carried 113,165 passenger in 1955 - 50% higher than in 1954.[18]
In May 1956, PIA ordered five Vickers Viscount 815s. The airline also entered into a partnership with PanAm to train PIA's personnel in 1956.[18] In 1957-1958, passenger numbers rose to 208,000, necessitating the purchase of 2 additional Lockheed Super Constellations.[18] The appointment of Air Marshal Nur Khan as the managing director of PIA in 1959 heralded an era of success for PIA.
1960s[edit]
In February 1960, PIA wet-leased a Boeing 707 from Pan American airlines and introduced it onto the Karachi-London route on 7 March 1960 initially using PanAm pilots,[8] thereby becoming the first Asian airline to induct and commercially operate a jet aircraft in its fleet.[8][9][11] - Air India took delivery of a 707 earlier on 21 February 1960, but did not induct the aircraft into commercial service until 19 April 1960.[23] An all-Pakistani crew began operation of the 707 from 20 June 1960 onwards.[18] By the end of 1960, PIA for the first time entered financial profitability.[18]
With the newly acquired aircraft, the airline introduced its first trans-Atlantic route Karachi-New York via London on 5 May 1961,[18] which was suspended in February 1963.[24] In 1961, it expanded its fleet by placing orders for 3 Boeing 720s, which were delivered in 1962.[18] On 2 January 1962, a PIA Boeing 720B flown by Captain Abdullah Baig from London to Karachi established a world record for speed over a commercial airline route of 938.78 km/h (582.98 mph), a record which still holds to this day.[25] Fokker F27 Friendships, and Sikorsky helicopters were also ordered and delivered in 1963, with the helicopters used to provide air service to 20 towns in East Pakistan until 1966.[18][26]
The helicopters were retired in 1966 and a reduced network of eight cities was served by Fokker F27 aircraft.[26] Upon the establishment of ties between Pakistan and the People's Republic of China, PIA started flying the Dhaka-Canton-Shanghai route on 29 April 1964, becoming the first airline of a non-communist country flying to the People's Republic of China.[27][18] On 10 May 1964, PIA became the first non-Soviet airline offering flights to Europe via Moscow.[18]
At the outbreak of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Pakistani Armed Forces used PIA's services for logistics and transport purposes. The Viscounts were phased out in 1966 and were replaced by four Hawker Siddeley Tridents.
PIA's route grew rapidly in the mid to late 1960s: Dhahran was added in 1965, while Cairo services resumed. In 1966, Paris, Istanbul, Baghdad, Kuwait, Jeddah and Nairobi were added to PIA's routes. Bangkok was added in 1967, while Manila, Tokyo, and Damascus were added in 1969.[18]
1970s[edit]
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On 3 December 1971, a French national's attempt to hijack a PIA flight from Paris to Karachi was thwarted by French security forces.[29] Transatlantic flights to New York City were resumed in May 1972 with a stopover in Europe.[24] With the establishment of cordial ties between the Libyan and Pakistani governments in the early '70s, PIA added Tripoli to its network in 1972. PIA also signed an agreement with Yugoslav airline JAT in 1972 to lease 2 PIA Boeing 707s to JAT.[30]
PIA acquired McDonnell Douglas DC-10s in 1973 to replace its remaining Boeing 707-300s. Nur Khan was appointed as PIA executive for the second term in 1974.[24] In 1974, PIA launched Pakistan International Cargo, offering air freight and cargo services. In 1975, PIA introduced new uniforms for air hostesses which were chosen through an open competition, with the winning entry designed by Hardy Amies.
The latter half of the decade witnessed further expansion of PIA's fleet with the introduction of Boeing 747s, with its first two aircraft leased from TAP Air Portugal in 1976.[31] By 1976-7, PIA carried 2.2 million passengers, compared to 698,000 in 1972-3.[32] Revenues in 1976 rose sharply compared to 1975, with the airline revenues of $134 million in the July–December period of 1976.[33] On 20 January 1978, a PIA Fokker 27 was hijacked en route to Karachi from Sukkur.[34]
For the first time since its inauguration, PIA started providing technical and administrative assistance or leased aircraft to foreign airlines including Air China,[35] Air Malta,[35] Choson Minhang,[36] Philippine Airlines,[37] Somali Airlines,[38] and Yemenia.[38] A subsidiary of PIA also started providing hotel management services in the United Arab Emirates towards the end of the decade. Political upheaval in Pakistan in the late 1970s began to negatively impact PIA's operations.[39]
1980s[edit]
The 1980s saw a continuation of PIA growth. The decade began with the opening of a cargo handling centre at Karachi airport, duty-free shops, the first C and D safety checks on its entire fleet, as well as the introduction of airline's first Airbus A300B4-200 aircraft. In 1981, PIA had an employee workforce of almost 24,000, which despite being reduced to 20,000 by 1983 still resulted in PIA having the world's highest ratio of employees to aircraft.[39] PIA's operations became increasingly de-centralized during the early 1980s, with responsibilities being split between new departments.[39] Despite de-centralization, PIA reported its highest ever profits in 1981-2,[40] followed by record profits again in 1983-4.[41]
In 1984, the airline introduced Night-Coach service as a low-cost alternative to day-time domestic flights. In the following years, PIA Planetarium was inaugurated in Karachi which was followed by planetariums in Lahore and Peshawar. These planetariums featured retired PIA aircraft on display for educational or observational purposes. Two more retired Boeing 720B aircraft were donated to the planetariums in Karachi and Lahore later on. PIA profits again rose in 1984-5.[42]
In June 1985, PIA became the first Asian airline to operate the Boeing 737-300 aircraft after 6 of the aircraft were delivered to the airline.[43] Pakistan International Airlines also played a large role in establishing UAE's Emirates airline in 1985 by providing technical and administrative assistance to the new carrier as well as leasing a new Boeing 737-300 and an Airbus A300B4-200.[12] In late 1987 and early 1988, services to Malé, Manchester and Toronto were introduced.[44]
1990s[edit]
PIA began to sustain operating losses and liquidity problems throughout the 1990s due to frequent pilot strikes, issues with various vendors, over-staffing, and political interference in airline management.[45] In 1990, First Officer Maliha Sami became the first female pilot of PIA when she took off on the Karachi-Panjgur-Turbat-Gwadar route. In June 1991, PIA took delivery of its first of six Airbus A310-300 aircraft - with the new aircraft, the airline introduced flights to Tashkent in 1992 and to Zürich in 1993.
In March 1993, AVM Farooq Umar became managing director of the airline. An Open Skies agreement between Karachi to Dubai was agreed upon in 1993, and 12 private airlines were allowed to operate domestically in Pakistan. Both steps came simultaneously and put great pressure on PIA's financial performance, though PIA launched six new routes to the Persian Gulf and CIS countries, along with a tourist 'Air Safari' scenic flight over the Karakoram Mountains in 1994. Non-stop flights from Lahore and Islamabad to JFK and Canada were launched, while PIA added Jakarta, Fujairah, Baku and Al-Ain to its network in 1994. In addition, PIA became a client of three flight-reservation systems, namely: Sabre, Galileo and Amadeus.
A Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft was also leased briefly in 1996 to cope with a surge in passenger traffic during summer 1996. Flights to Beirut were resumed the same year as well before being discontinued a few years later. In 1999, PIA leased five Boeing 747-300 aircraft from Cathay Pacific to replace its Boeing 747-200M fleet. The aircraft were painted with a new livery, a handwork Pashmina tail, on white body and large Pakistan titles on the front fuselage. The livery was adopted in the early 90s but due to some copyright issues, it was dropped. The Boeing 747-300s continued to bear the new livery, but with a plain green tail with PIA titles. The other aircraft in the fleet were repainted in early 1990s livery.
2000s[edit]
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The War in Afghanistan following the attacks on 11 September 2001 negatively impacted PIA's operations as Afghan airspace was closed.[45] However, following restructuring of the airline under new management in April 2001, the airline again became profitable.[45] Cost per employee dropped 24% between 2000-3, which lower engineering and maintenance costs lead to enhanced airline revenue.[45]
In July 2002, PIA purchased six Boeing 747-300 aircraft from Cathay Pacific, five of which were already on lease. The sixth one arrived shortly afterwards and was used mainly on its North American and European routes. In October 2002, after ten years without any new orders, the airline placed an order for eight Boeing 777 aircraft. The order included all three variants of 777, i.e. three 777-200ER (Extended Range), two 777-200LR (Longer Range) and three 777-300ER versions. PIA was the launch customer that revived the Boeing 777-200LR project that, until then, only had three orders.
Boeing delivered the first of three 777-200ER aircraft to PIA in January 2004, and PIA introduced a new livery for the 777-200ERs that was applied to most of its fleet. PIA also leased six more Airbus A310-300 aircraft directly from Airbus. On 3 November 2005, PIA placed an order to purchase seven ATR 42-500 aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of Fokker F27 Friendships. On 10 November 2005, PIA used the 777-200LR to fly the world's longest flight by a commercial airliner, flying over 21,000 kilometers on an eastbound flight from Hong Kong to London for 22 hours and 22 minutes[15] - a record which still stands as of late 2019.[16] On 6 December 2005, PIA acquired another new Boeing 777-200ER on a ten-year lease. On 23 December 2006, PIA took delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER. The remaining aircraft were delivered in January 2007.
On 25 February 2006, Boeing delivered its first 777-200LR to PIA. ATR delivered two of the seven ordered ATR 42s to PIA in May and December 2006 respectively, following which the airline ceased using military Lockheed C-130 Hercules for passenger services in northern areas of Pakistan. The military aircraft were being used after the PIA Flight 688 accident.
With the induction of long-range 777 aircraft in its fleet, PIA started offering non-stop flights from Toronto to Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore from 3 March 2006. PIA had also planned non-stop flights to New York City, Chicago, Washington, and Houston but was not permitted by US authorities (unless the airline implemented a European stopover on the flight to American cities) due to security concerns after 9/11.
A PIA flight from Multan crashed in July 2006, killing 45. A government inquiry afterwards blamed aging aircraft for the crash.[46] Houston services also ended in 2006. Following the crash, on 5 March 2007, the European Commission banned all but 9 of PIA's 42-strong fleet from flying to Europe citing safety concerns over its ageing aircraft.[47][48] The fleet of Boeing 777s was exempted from the ban,[49] but 15 aircraft were over 20 years old by this point.[50] PIA claimed that the ban was discriminatory and unjustifiable. On 26 March 2007, Tariq Saeed Kirmani was forced to resign after pressure from authorities because of the EU ban[citation needed]. Zafar Khan was then appointed as the new chairman of Pakistan International Airlines.
The ban on some of the aircraft was lifted after four months on 5 July 2007, following an inspection by the European Union Air Safety Administration. Of the eleven aircraft allowed to resume operations to the EU, five were Boeing 747-300s and the remaining six were Airbus A310-300s. On 29 November 2007, the EU completely removed the ban and PIA's entire fleet was permitted to fly to Europe.[51]
2010s[edit]
In 2010, PIA altered its livery. The tail design was replaced with a much larger version of the Pakistan national flag and added the text "Pakistan International" in gold writing underneath the large billboard-style PIA on the fuselage. The green stripe was modified to include gold and was extended to the rear of the fuselage.
By 2011, PIA began to be unprofitable again, requiring government subsidies.[52] A combination of increased competition from Middle Eastern airlines, rising fuel prices, corporate mismanagement, and over-staffing contributed to PIAs sharp decrease in revenues.[citation needed]
In 2014, PIA leased four Boeing 737-800s. PIA also issued a request for tender for four Boeing 777-300ERs, however, the bids for the 777s were not accepted. The airline did lease Airbus A320 aircraft and inducted two A320-214s in its fleet in 2014. Another wet-leased A320-211s joined PIA on 11 August 2014. In October 2014, the airline again wet-leased three Boeing 737-800s, and it also accepted bids to dry lease five ATR 72–500s for eight years. In 2015, after serving PIA for 16 years, the last of PIA's Boeing 747-300s were phased out.
In early 2016, PIA was essentially grounded for an entire week as employees walked out en masse following the deaths of two employees in a demonstration against the airline's privatization.[53] In August 2016, PIA launched a new "Premier Service" for flights to London, using an Airbus A330-300 wet-leased from SriLankan Airlines.[54] The wet-lease period ended after six months and as a result, the A330-300 was returned to SriLankan Airlines,[55] and the Premier Service discontinued. By the end of 2016, the airline was saddled with $3 billion in debt.[53]
In January 2017, PIA retired all of the Airbus A310-300s from its fleet. For replacement, PIA leased four Boeing 737-800s from Pegasus Airlines which were returned later on completion of the lease period. After a period of over 50 years of service, PIA service to New York ended in October 2017 as a result of TSA regulation preventing nonstop flights from Pakistan and the US,[56] leaving Toronto as PIA's only destination in North America - which continues to be served by nonstop flights from Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
In 2017, PIA decided to replace its reservation and ticketing system "Sabre" with a Turkish origin system called "Hitit". Both PIA & Hitit signed an agreement and in September 2018, the airline successfully switched to the new system.[57][58] At the end of 2018, the airline was burdened with $3.3 billion in debt, up from $2.97 the year before, and thus requiring government bailouts for continued operation.[59] With the demise of Shaheen Air, PIA launched routes that had previously been served only by Shaheen.[56]
New profitable routes were launched in 2019,[60] while profitable routes such as Karachi-Toronto saw increased frequencies.[61] six unprofitable routes were discontinued in 2019.[62] In April 2019, PIA claimed that its revenues almost matched operating costs.[63] Later that year following a visit of TSA officials to the Islamabad International Airport in July 2019, PIA expressed hope that non-stop flights to the US would be permitted.[64] In August 2019, PIA laid off 1,000 "redundant employees."[65] In September, PIA announced that it would lease additional aircraft to increase the airline's fleet to 37 by 2020,[66] and 45 by 2023.[67] By the end of 2019, PIA reported a 41% increase in year-on-year revenue due to discontinuation of unprofitable routes, reintroduction of grounded aircraft, and a sharp increase in the airline cargo space utilization.[68]
Corporate management[edit]
Structure[edit]
Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL) is majority-owned by the Government of Pakistan (87%) while the remainder (13%) by private shareholders. The airline is under the administration of Aviation Division and is managed by President & chief executive officer as well as the board of directors.
The Board consists of nine independent non-executive members and has four sub-committees: an Audit Committee, Brand and Advertising Committee, Finance Committee, and Human Resource Committee each having its charter and chairman. The President & chief executive officer leads the executive management of staff who run the airline. The airline's main headquarters are located at Karachi,[69] while smaller subhead offices are located in several cities within Pakistan.
Privatization[edit]
In the late 1990s, the Government of Pakistan considered selling the airline to the private sector due to the persistent losses suffered by the airline. The government announced its privatisation plans but they were never implemented. Several steps towards outsourcing of non-core business have been initiated. Catering units (starting with Karachi Flight Kitchen), ground handling (starting with ramp services) and engineering, are to be gradually carved out of the airline and operated as independent companies. During 1997, Pakistan called in a team from International Finance (IFC), the consulting arm of the World Bank, to advise on restructuring and privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). However, no agreement was reached.[70] The government has had many plans for the privatisation of the State-owned airline. However, no reasonable agreement or solution has been found to this day. On 18 February 2009, the carrier was dropped from the privatisation list. [71]
In 2013, the Government of Pakistan once again aimed to privatise the airline due to increased losses by selling twenty-six percent of shares & management control to the investor. This plan was dropped due to heavy protest by airline unions and associations in which two employees were killed when security forces were tasked to stop the protesters for their movement towards Jinnah International Airport terminal building.
In 2018, the newly elected government aimed not to privatise the entity and make it a profitable through the change in its top management.[72]
Financial performance[edit]
In 2011, PIA began to be unprofitable, requiring government subsidies.[52] A combination of increased competition from Middle Eastern airlines, rising fuel prices, corporate mismanagement, and over-staffing contributed to PIAs sharp decrease in revenues.[citation needed] By the end of 2016, the airline was saddled with $3 billion in debt.[53] At the end of 2018, the airline was burdened with $3.3 billion in debt, up from $2.97 the year before, and thus requiring government bail outs for continued operation.[59] In April 2019, PIA claimed that its revenues almost matched operating costs.[63] An audit in September 2019 revealed that PIA had operated 46 empty flights between 2016 and 2017, without any passengers causing a loss of $1.1 million to the airline. Additionally, 36 Hajj flights were also running without any passengers.[73] By the end of 2019, PIA reported a 41% increase in year-on-year revenue due to discontinuation of unprofitable routes, reintroduction of idle aircraft, and a sharp increase in the airline cargo space utilization.[68]
The airline faces many challenges to its profitability. PIA is considered one of the cheapest airlines.[74] Pakistan faces what has been termed "capacity dumping" by Middle East airlines, who operate numerous daily flights to every major city in Pakistan.[56] Pakistan's Open Skies Agreement with the UAE, for example, allows Emirati airlines an unlimited number of seats into Karachi, with Emirates airlines alone operating up to seven daily flights to Karachi from Dubai on high-capacity Boeing 777s.[56] PIA also discontinued previously profitable routes to the US, as the TSA forbade nonstop flights from Pakistan to the US, and instead required costly diversions to European airports for immigration clearance - resulting in flight times that were significantly longer than flights on Middle Eastern airlines.[56] New routes such as to Najaf and Thailand also did not improve the airline's finances given the seasonality of those destinations.[56] Further, staffing levels and overall management issues, including an employee count of 18,014 in 2010 for a fleet of 40 aircraft,[75][76] present further challenges - although in August 2019, PIA laid off 1,000 "redundant employees."[65]
| Year | Revenues (PKR in Million) | Profit/(Loss) (PKR in Million) | Employees (Ave.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 94,738 | (32,746) | [77] |
| 2018 | 65,723 | (48,000) | 13,000 approx. |
| 2017 | 90,844 | (44,110) | |
| 2016 | 88,997 | (45,381) | 14,000 approx.[78] |
| 2015 | 104,515 | (34,995) | 15,000 |
| 2014 | 113,780 | (34,006) | 16,000 |
| 2013 | 95,771 | (44,322) | 16,604 |
| 2012 | 97,438 | (33,844) | 17,439 |
| 2011 | 116,551 | (26,767) | 18,014 |
| 2010 | 107,532 | (20,785) | 18,019 |
| 2009 | 94,564 | (5,822) | 17,944 |
| 2008 | 88,863 | (36,139) | 18,036 |
| 2007 | 70,481 | (13,399) | 18,149 |
| 2006 | 70,587 | (12,763) | 18,282 |
| 2005 | 64,074 | (4,412) | 19,263 |
| 2004 | 57,788 | 2,307 | 19,634 |
In 2010, PIA carried 1,454,000 kg of mail - in 2013, PIA managed just 648,000 kg of mail. Additionally, PIA's revenue from excess baggage, passenger load factor, and passenger kilometre flow have been declining steadily.[79]
| Year | Revenue Passengers (Million) | Passenger Load Factor | Average Passenger Stage Distance (Statute KM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 |  4,202 | 72 | 2,833 |
| 2013 | 4,449 | 70 | 2,751 |
| 2012 | 5.236 | 70 | 2,650 |
| 2011 | 5.953 | 72 | 2,631 |
| 2010 | 5.538 | 74 | 2,827 |
| 2009 | 5.535 | 70 | 2,510 |
| 2008 | 5.617 | 71 | 2,479 |
| 2007 | 5.415 | 67 | 2,527 |
| 2006 | 5.732 | 69 | 2,639 |
| 2005 | 5.499 | 70 | 2,638 |
In 2011, about 81% of revenue was from passenger traffic and only 5% from cargo. Another 7.8% was from food and beverage sales. The remaining 6% was from various sources such as excess baggage charges, air charter services, aircraft maintenance engineering services, ground handling and related services, and carriage of mail.[76]
Destinations[edit]
As of November 2019, PIA serves 19 domestic and 24 international destinations in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America. Jeddah, Medina and Dubai are the major focus city for the airline, with flights from Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Sialkot and Faisalabad.
PIA with its Interline agreements and codeshare partner airlines, offers a wider choice of travel in 102 international destinations in 40 countries across the world with different flight connections.
[edit]
Interline agreements[edit]
PIA have Interline agreements with the following airlines:[80]
Cargo SPA agreements[edit]
PIA have Cargo Special Pro-rate Agreements agreements with the following airlines: [82]
Fleet[edit]
Current fleet[edit]
As of December 2019, the Pakistan International Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[83][84]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | E+ | E | Total | |||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 12[1] | 1[85] | — | 8 | 161 | 169 | Two aircraft painted in a 1960s retro livery. Five new aircraft to be delivered in 2020.[85] | |
| — | 8 | 162 | 170 | |||||
| ATR 42-500 | 3 | — | — | — | 48 | 48 | ||
| ATR 72-500 | 4 | — | — | — | 70 | 70 | ||
| Boeing 777-200ER | 6 | — | 35 | — | 294 | 329 | One aircraft painted in a 1960s retro livery. | |
| 25 | — | 282 | 307 | |||||
| Boeing 777-200LR | 2 | — | 35 | — | 275 | 310 | Launch customer. | |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 4 | — | 35 | — | 358 | 393 | ||
| 18 | 40 | 384 | 442 | |||||
| Total | 31 | 1 | ||||||
Pakistan International Airline is also considering an order for eight new wide-body aircraft in the next few years. The airline is considering Boeing 787, Airbus A330neo and Airbus A350 for this order. [85]
Livery[edit]
In December 2003, PIA introduced a new image that was applied to its first Boeing 777-200ER and on two newly leased Airbus A310s, one of which was in service. The livery was white at the front and beige at the rear separated by a dark green stripe. The tail was painted white with a new typeface PIA acronym written in dark green. The Pakistan title was added to the front fuselage in all raised letters and the engine cowlings were painted in beige. The PIA logo written in calligraphic Urdu was added just behind the cockpit. However, due to criticism, the design was modified before the first Boeing 777 was delivered. The tail logo was replaced by a flowing Pakistan flag on a beige background. The "Pakistan" titles were removed and the PIA acronym was enlarged and moved onto the fuselage. The English and Urdu PIA titles remained the same. The leased A310s and most of the PIA fleet also adopted this livery at a later date.
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In early 2006, the airline launched four new tail designs for its fleet. The tails represented the four provinces of Pakistan: Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Balochistan. The tails promoted the cultures of the four provinces of Pakistan by applying motifs to the tails and adding a city name to the rear of the fuselage corresponding to the province. The "Frontier" tail represented the "Phulkari" (flowering) pattern, which reflected a tradition of embroidery generally done on shawls, shirts, and linen. The "Punjab" tail was loosely related to the tile decoration of the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore. The "Balochistan" tail showed the creativity seen in the local kilims, carpets, and rugs woven with wool, goat or camel hair and mixed yarn. The pattern was mostly bold geometric motifs in primary colours dominated by red. The "Sindh" tail was influenced by the Hala tile work with electric blue and white floral patterns. In 2009, management stopped the application of provincial tails, deeming them too costly.
PIA launched its new livery in early April 2010. An Airbus A310, Boeing 777-200 and Boeing 747-300 were the first aircraft to wear the new look. The livery was unveiled at the PIA headquarters on a Boeing 777 model. The livery consisted of a green and gold strip running around the bottom of the fuselage and continuing right up until the tail cone. The forward/upper portion was white and at the rear, it was an off-white/beige colour. The bottom part of the tail blended into the upper fuselage as it too is white, with the rest of the tail painted with a large wavy Pakistan flag, which takes up the whole tail, in a dark green colour. At the front of the fuselage, 'PIA' was written in a billboard style in dark green and underneath 'Pakistan' was written in golden colour. Just behind the cockpit, there is a stylised Urdu PIA logo as well as on the engines.
In July 2014, on the delivery of the first A320 series aircraft, PIA introduced a "crescent and star" on the aircraft engines' cowlings in place of the Urdu PIA logo. In 2015, after the completion of sixty years service, the 1960s livery was applied to three of the Airbus A320s and on one Boeing 777-200ER.
In April 2018, PIA formally launched a new brand identity and livery and added a portrait of the Markhor in a ceremony held at PIA Offices in Islamabad, presented by the then head of brand of PIA, having Pakistan's national animal represented on its aircraft, including a large one on the tail and two on the engines, describing the resilient nature of PIA Brand surviving under the onslaught of all the negativity associated with the brand. The symbol of animal was chosen for its universal recognition as the Urdu calligraphy logo of PIA could not be comprehended by non-Pakistani customers. In essence the idea was to make PIA a truly international brand based on the values of resilience, grace and fortitude, something which PIA had lost with increased focus on ethnic traffic. The tail had a forward leaping Markhor having long screw horns, which are the features of 'Kashmiri Markhor' endemic to Pakistan only. According to the initial plan, a euro-white style was chosen and existing green and golden strips were removed from the aircraft fuselage along with off-white/beige colour on the rear fuselage, but later a major rebranding was carried out. The font of the PIA logo was also changed and added to the fuselage. For the first time, legacy PIA colours (Pakistan green and mustard gold) were dropped and a blue texture was added in the "PIA" acronym expanding the colour palette for the brand. Urdu PIA logo colour was also changed from the yellow-green gradient texture. The airline's slogan was also changed to "We Fly at the Right Attitude" from "Great People to Fly With". The first aircraft with the redesigned livery was converted on 12 May 2018 and rolled out of Isphani Hanger by the method of decals to make a debut at the New Islamabad International Airport.[86][87] The re-branding was halted on Suo Moto Notice taken by Supreme Court of Pakistan on fears of spending millions on the rebranding an
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