TUESDAY: PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik adressed a press conference in which he has briefly explained the that the 5-Years Strategic Business Plan is being developed and it consists of cost-cutting and revenue generation through detailed analysis of the market and it will be presented to the government in March.
The Open Skies policy of the previous governments brought losses to the national carrier, Mr Malik said. The government has already decided in principle to end the open skies policy.
Her further added,
The annual loss on operating flights on socio-economic routes amounts to Rs452 million,”
Sharing details, Mr Malik said that in addition to the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, there are another 23 properties owned by PIA in Tashkent, Tehran, New Delhi, Bombay, New York, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.
“Either these properties would be disposed off or will continue as source of income”
As part of cost-saving operations, PIA has now introduced five new international routes including Islamabad-Doha-Islamabad, Karachi-Jeddah-Karachi, Multan-Muscat-Multan, Sialkot-Sharjah-Sialkot, Peshawar-Al Ain-Peshawar and Lahore-Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur-Karachi.
“In these routes, PIA is getting 95% seat occupancy. Aircraft from loss-making routes have been shifted to profitable ones.”
