A facelift for PIA

A FEW days after sending the head of PIA’s engineering department on forced leave has come the news that the airline’s chairman has resigned. This shows that the government has finally realised just how much of a mess the national airline has been in and that it needs to take remedial steps to restore its reputation and credibility. However, before making any hasty decisions, the government must take stock of the situation that has seen the EU ban a majority of PIA’s fleet as well as internal conflicts that saw a weeklong protest by engineers which resulted in the cancellations of many domestic and international flights. It must realise that in today’s competitive world, where people have more choices in airlines, it cannot afford to have a national airline that falls short on so many counts. The EU’s ban was not a bolt from the blue; several of its warnings to PIA about its aircraft not meeting international standards of safety fell on deaf ears. And when the ban did finally come into force, the management’s plea that the EU action was sudden and “discriminatory” was unconvincing. Not so unexpected, however, was the uproar created by the airline’s engineers over a week ago who were protesting against the presence of engineers and staff with no prior experience in a commercial airline. Indeed, PIA has been plagued with a plethora of non-essential staff hired over the decades by various governments. It is perhaps one of the most overstaffed organisations in the country. Its losses are phenomenal — at around one billion rupees a month, according to a Public Account Committee report last year.

The new chairman has a lot of house-cleaning to do. This includes better planning and management of the airline, shedding of the deadwood and better upkeep and maintenance of planes. But the foremost task is the removal of the problems that have led to the EU ban. All planes must meet the international standards of safety. The airline’s personnel must be downsized in a judicious manner and only those with commercial airline experience should be retained. Everything must be done to help the airline regain its once enviable reputation.

Change at PIA

Once again, the top official at the national airline has resigned, in the wake of controversy and scandal. Some reports, including in this newspaper, suggest that he was shown the door after the recent ban on several of the airline's aircraft by the European Union which not only sullied the image of PIA but also severely affected its international operation. Following the ban, the airline's aircraft engineers had gone on a 'go-slow' strike. They were said to be angry with the management for placing the crucial department of the airline's operation under a senior retired air force officer who was, according to their view, not qualified to carry out the task assigned to him. Since the EU ban is believed to be related to the safety aspects of the airline's operation, blame for it would fall on the airline's aircraft maintenance division.

It is worth pointing out that the word 'believed' has been used above to describe the actual details of the ban because the airline itself has yet to tell its passengers the exact specifics for which it has been imposed. In fact, both prior to and after its imposition, the airline's senior management was in a constant state of denial and obfuscation of the truth -- whose dissemination was its duty and responsibility, at least to its passengers and the public at large (since the airline is government-owned and periodically seeks government bailouts, financed by taxpayers money). Relevant and valid questions regarding the ban were deflected by giving information that was either one-sided (only PIA's side was being given) or fantastical. For instance, one theory floated was that the ban was imposed because the EU wanted the airline to purchase Airbus aircraft, since the plane manufacturer was said to be experiencing a downturn in its financial health. This of course conveniently ignored the fact that the planes that were passed by the EU's air safety division were none other than PIA's Boeing 777s. Also overlooked was the question why the EU would want to use this circuitous route to make a third world country buy aircraft made by a European aircraft manufacturer? In addition to this, relevant information such as the fact that the EU had blacklisted over a hundred airlines and that (a) this was part of its new policy to improve the safety of air travel in its airspace after several disasters in recent years, that (b) dozens of poorly maintained African airlines were blacklisted in recent years and © the ban is by no means permanent and is reviewed on a quarterly basis with airlines that are blacklisted then having the opportunity to regain their flying status. Another story -- reported in some newspapers --- was the airline chief was carrying some crucial documents to the EU which would have exonerated PIA but which were mysteriously stolen.

Such a response to the ban only reinforced the senior management's incapability to grasp the gravity of the situation. Much has already been written on PIA's failure and its insistence that everything was okay, when it clearly wasn't, and its inability to take corrective measures as and when required. Even after the ban was imposed, it was only the aircraft engineers which seemingly forced the airline's top brass to see the folly of placing non-technical people in charge of aircraft maintenance. The German ambassador to this country was quoted some weeks ago as saying that almost a year elapsed between the time PIA was told that it was under scrutiny and could face a possible ban and the actual imposition of the ban. That the prohibition was imposed despite this goes to show that the matter was not taken seriously. One hopes that the new airline chief will be chosen with due care and seriousness and his or her priority should be to get off the EU blacklist. The government needs to do two things if it wants the airline to improve: one, appoint an individual who has experience of the aviation industry and not someone who happens to be a friend of someone important and two, stop interfering in the operational affairs of the airlines.

PIA should sell most of its fleet to other domestic competitors. Allow them to operate freely domestically/internationally.

Cut its workforce gradually for a few years. And be privatized.

Hi
Ok im not an economic expert,just know a bit but can PIA be made a publically traded company,and generate funds from the stocks?Atleast then we can have a QUALIFIED CEO who wud be attracted by profit shares earned inthe halal way rather than loot ghasoot.PIA is in this condition today due to corruption but i still believe it has the potential to be very profitable.

There is still lots of corruption in all Pakistani government-run firms. WAPDA and PIA are the big ones. The only thing I can think of is privatizing PIA. That makes it much more efficient as foreign engineers are brought in, and we can share some of the profits. Add to that the fact that the foreign company will have to pay GOP lots of property taxes and other stuff. This brings the ultimate earnings well above the current level!

we need to correct its basics
its fares are more due to the reason a large number of persons (VIPs) get tickets free of cost which include all the members of national assembly and provincial assembly and their fares are compensated by increasing the price of tickets for common people.
this cannot be changed
our psychology will never change

yes privitise the organisation and you get exactly as you described.

A reality check guys. PIA fares are NOT higher than its main competitors ie. emirates or BA from the UK although they are higher than people like GULF. The fares have very little impact from the free-loaders such as politicians and senior civil servents. The biggest problem with PIA is that every Government over the last 30 years have treated it as its personal property. They have payed political favours by giving people jobs in PIA. The result is that PIA has the largest passenger/employee ration in the world.

Also PIA has indulged in other non-core activities such as hotels and even poultry farms!!!!!!!

Just imagine an airline being staffed by a very large number of non-professionals who are not accountable to anyone. Everytime the Government has to bail them out of a crisis without finding out the causes of the crisis and rectifying them.

As some with very limited experience of the airline industry but lots of experience in management of global corporates, I bellieve even I can make PIA profitable and competative within 18-24 months. This would obviously include total control and non interference from the Government. If done properly PIA can replace its entire fleet with relatively new and fuel efficient aircraft. The middle management needs to be reduced to about 10% of the current level. The operations/engineering depts. need to be staffed by professionals who have technical skills. Overall emphasis has to be placed on the end product ie. make sure passengers recieve the best service possible.

go pia. go govt for hiring another incompetent individual who used to be part of the armed forces. great job mr.kirmani and mr.aziz ceo of pakistan.

tariq kirmani is not from the armed forces. check your facts before you post here again. jackass.

Well Put... He was a corporate suit, and a very bad one at best. Here is a brief history of Mr. Karmani;

Tariq Kirmani, Chairman, PIA, who took charge of Pakistan’s national Airline in April 2005, is a corporate loss-making veteran with over 35 years of dismal experience in the Marketing sector of petroleum products.

Soon after completing his Master’s in Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.

Kirmani embarked upon a personally rewarding career, starting with a multinational Oil company in 1969 and worked for seven years in United States, United Arab Emirates and Australia in different senior management positions in Marketing, Operations, and Finance. In 1991, Kirmani became the first Pakistani to be elected as a Company Director of that multi-national company.

He then joined Pakistan State Oil (PSO) in April 1999 and within two years went on to become the Managing Director of that company in July, 2001. Industry experts associated his rapid corporate promotions with his governmental contacts and affiliations with the MQM.

In December 2004, Tariq Kirmani was nominated as the President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz in his capacity as the PHF patron-in-chief. This posting was widely hailed as a favortism/patronage move on the government's part.

Kirmani, in addition to holding the position of Chairman PIA, served as a Director / Member on the Boards of: Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd, Pakistan Telecommunication, Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan, Pakistan Power Infrastructure Board, Pakistan Railway Board, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, Lahore University of Management Sciences, KSE Good Governance Committee, Pakistan Tourist Development Corporation, Pakistan Sports Trust, Cupola Cares Foundation, National Academy of Performing Arts, and Chief Scout of PIA.