20000331

PIA sees double

digit growth in

passenger capacity

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Despite problems inherited by Pakistan International Airlines, the present management has recorded an 8.57 percent growth in revenue as well as passenger service during October 1999-March 2000. The national carrier is expecting double digit growth on "our ASKs (Available Seat Kilometre) which is a gauge for passenger capacity."

Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, Managing Director, Pakistan International Airlines, briefing newsmen on Thursday at PIA Head Office, claimed that PIA had become world leader in fleet utilisation and Airbus operations had touched an all time high of 13 hours a day utilisation.

The briefing related to the expansion and consolidation of national carrier and Haj operations which ran into difficulties because the Ministry of Haj Affairs had been given an assurance by the past PIA management that turnaround of Hujjaj could be achieved in 26 days. The foreign exchange quota, accordingly, was allocated to the Hajis for 26 days. It was not possible to retrieve the position once the plans were finalised. The PIA, therefore, had to "willy nilly" meet the new situation.

"It was a formula of disaster," Abbasi said and added that 36 days were needed to complete the operations". Before touching on expansion plans and consolidation aspect, he said that the Director General, Civil Aviation Authority of Saudi Arabia, had been approached by PIA seeking his assistance in overcoming the problems at Jeddah airport. The Director General, Abbasi said, had very kindly provided an additional bay to PIA.

Mustafa Ansari, Director Marketing, who was General Manager, PIA in Saudi Arabia, before taking his new appointment at the PIA Head Office, said that there are only 12 bays at Jeddah Haj terminal which were constructed in 1982. Of these three are allotted to Saudi Arabian Airlines and the remaining 9 are used by other carriers including PIA.

Abbasi explained that the heavy congestion at Jeddah airport and the consequent non-availability of bays had put unprecedented pressure on PIA operations out of Saudi Arabia. All foreign airlines, including PIA, were facing delays, he said. PIA had been allocated only a single bay this year which was also being used by other foreign carriers. In addition to the post Haj operations, scheduled flights are also operating out of the same terminal, causing massive over-crowding and congestion.

The airline used to be allocated an exclusive bay for its Haj flights but this year, it had to share the terminal with other foreign airlines. The national carrier is carrying a total of 110,000 Hajis in 26 days this year, as compared to 79,000 Hujjaj transported in the same number of days in 1999.

Overcrowding at Jeddah airport has forced PIA to operate only seven flights per day instead of the planned 11. More time is required for the processing/handling of PIA flights as the returning Hajis on board PIA carry luggage which is cleared after stringent security procedures. This is in contrast to other airlines where passenger baggage is not involved, leading to expeditious clearing of flights.

Abbasi said that improvement is expected soon with the availability of an additional bay to the airline. PIA has already taken up the issue with the Saudi Arabian Civil Aviation Authority which has promised to alleviate some of our concerns. Priority is always given to the airlines of the Gulf Cooperation Council states for the first 10 days for transporting Hujjaj out of Jeddah.

He said the situation is out of PIA's control "as the infrastructural shortcomings at Jeddah are not of our making." Our pre-Haj schedule clocked up 97 percent regularity where PIA was in control. At Jeddah, PIA aircraft have been sitting idle due to lack of slots, while their crew spent up to 15 hours at a stretch in the aircraft awaiting clearance. The Haj schedule was agreed to by the previous management. "We had communicated our reservations on this which is on record," he said.

On expansion and consolidation, the PIA Managing Director said that with 19 flights (including five out of Manchester for North America), from Pakistan to the United Kingdom, UK has emerged as a major hub for PIA operations. "We now have a daily flight to London Heathrow, while Birmingham is the new destination. We have embarked on an expansion and consolidation plan in the Far East. Hong Kong is our new destination while the Bangkok hub will be expanding."

Abbasi said that PIA will be operating flights from Pakistan to Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta on a circular pattern and serving long-haul passengers. "We have increased our capacity from Dubai and introduced standardised timings. PIA now has point to point flights from Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad and Faisalabad to Dubai."

He said that Jeddah had been linked with Faisalabad for the first time. The national carrier has introduced a new policy to make every route profitable in its own right. The engineering base has been activated to upgrade all facilities for obtaining certification and crew rostering is being supervised closely to enhance productivity and service standards, he said.

Arif Abbasi said: "We are going to expand or else we will be doomed. That is the formula of growth."