Most people have their horror stories about PIA, so c’mon Guppies let’s hear them 
Op-ed: PIA: shape up or ship out
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_24-10-2003_pg3_3
Ravian
PIA must be our corporate flagship again. It must stop sponging off the captive migrant worker, dishing out “saag gosht” and Mussarrat Nazir. Instead, it should look to the future and aim to recapture the international business traveller
I have a confession to make. In my international travels, whenever I land at airports served by PIA, I look out for the fin with the green emblem. The heart warms up a little when I see it. And if I see two at a time, as one sometimes does at Heathrow, I feel a positive glow. My professional globe trotting does not permit me to travel much by PIA but it remains my preferred airline for travel in and out of Pakistan.
I doubt if I can fully account for this teenage nationalistic pride in the airline given the horror stories one hears of long delays, overbooking, rude behaviour, bad food and unbearable toilets. The trouble is that I cannot recall a single incident in the last thirty five years so painful as to make me thoroughly fed up with PIA — as others have become. But there have been lots of minor irritants, easily fixed by alert management, that add up to make PIA a third world, unprofessional outfit. They prevent PIA from becoming a truly competitive airline for business travel in the tradition of Emirates, Thai air, Singapore airlines and British Airways.
Worldwide, the airline industry is not in happy straits these days. Economic slowdown and terrorism have halved business travel forcing well-known brand names to curtail operations, reduce staff and seek mergers to remain viable. British Airways, an industry giant, is barely profitable and United Airlines is in receivership. Not so PIA. After British Airways suspended its operations to Islamabad, PIA has enjoyed virtual monopoly on direct travel to Europe and beyond. And this has helped to turn around the balance sheet. In 2000, PIA tallied up a loss of Rs 5.2 billion. In 2001, because of the changed international environment, revenue shot up to Rs 44 billion (from Rs 39 billion the previous year) and net operating loss fell to Rs 2 billion. In 2002, PIA made a profit. Of the five principal state-owned enterprises, only PIA and Railways (the latter with a net operating profit of Rs 1.8 billion) are in the black. The other three are a major drain on the budget (Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation and the Steel Mill have net operating losses of Rs 17 billion and Rs 1.3 billion, respectively).
The importance of corporate flagships for a country’s image cannot be overestimated. Emirates has helped put Dubai on the world map. Thai airways gives lustre to the country’s hospitality industry. British Airways’ projects a sleek, efficient image of the UK. Our PIA enjoyed stellar reputation till the early 1970s and was a great flagship. But then the business model changed. Dull management turned PIA into an employment depot and service quality plummeted. International business travellers deserted PIA and it turned into a niche airline living off the loyalty of our émigré population.
This is short-sighted since second- and third-generation emigrants are unlikely to make annual treks to the Potohar. And they will have decidedly less nostalgia for “saag gosht” and Mussarat Nazir. PIA thus needs to rethink its business model quickly and, taking the cue from other successful regional airlines, recapture international business travel.
Meanwhile, here are six quick fixes to reduce the irritants:
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Extend privileged service to business class travellers beyond the cabin. Separate out baggage for all business travellers (not just the VIPs) and give it priority in baggage collection. Airlines the world over do this for good reason. Why can’t PIA?
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In this age of information technology no self-respecting airline requires reconfirmation of seats for onward travel. Why does PIA? Get rid of this irritant. Find other ways to discipline travel agents who over-book.
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The cabin crew is nice in a homely sort of way. Addressed gently, they are eager to please and are charming. But it is clear that nobody has bothered to train them in serving food and generally sounding and looking professional even in the business class cabin. A little bit of training will go a long way to smarten them up.
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Smoking is now forbidden in many public areas in Pakistan. Why should it be allowed on PIA’s international flights? It is crazy to think that designating a few rows for smokers will protect the others (the vast majority). A seven-hour flight to London in the company of smokers inflicts a lot of secondary damage, especially on children and the elderly. Designate all flights as non-smoking.
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For a people so fastidious about “paki” and “napaki”, PIA is remarkably cavalier (almost on the scale of Indian Airlines) about its toilets even in the business class. The toilets appear to be held together with bits of tape, they often malfunction, flush tanks have smelly yellow liquids even at the start of a long haul, and seats and floors are wet throughout the flight. You would think that an airline based in a country with cheap labour could fix its toilets.
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And, finally, security in the cabin. On a recent Lahore-Dubai flight, Western (and other) passengers were horrified that the cockpit door was open and unprotected throughout the flight. Upon enquiring, we were told that the door had to be kept open for adequate air-conditioning in the cockpit. PIA must not inflict such hard choices (between pilots choking from loss of air or having their throats slit by suicidal hijackers) on hapless passengers.
I fear, alas, that all this will fall on deaf ears. I suspect that PIA management knows that as long as there are suckers whose heart pumps a little faster on seeing the green emblem, they can indulge in mental atrophy. But beware. If South Asia becomes an integrated, open skies region, emerging private airlines, like India’s swanky Jet Airways, will gobble up the nationalised behemoths. Better that PIA shapes up now to compete for the larger South Asian market.
P.S. Recently seen parked together at an international airport: Air India, PIA, BIMAN; in that order. Now think of the closest Urdu equivalents of the three acronyms. (Translation: Lose woman, lover is untrustworthy!). *
