Pakistan International Airlines: The Descending Flight through History- Ihsan Arsalan

It is the summer of 1991, and Mr. Jameel is boarding his flight en route to Karachi. He proudly views his national carrier from the waiting lounge of Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The clock strikes half past three, and they peacefully go and sit in their comfortable aircraft. The signature merry music and the hospitable crew welcome them. The ambiance and the lighting of the aircraft are truly breathtaking, and Mr. Jameel is delighted to see it.

One of the female flight attendants welcomes him, “Assalam-ulaikum Sir! Let me see your boarding pass. Your seat is D20; have a safe journey!”





He settles in his seat and feels a wave of relaxation take over as his feet are welcomed by the spacious leg room. The captain makes his introductory announcement, “Welcome to Pakistan International Airlines Flight 518. I’m your Captain Mohammad Khan. We’ll be taking off shortly and will cruise at an altitude of thirty-six thousand feet; we hope you have an amazing journey!”

Moments later the aircraft taxies, and the in-flight safety video plays on the personal television screens. The aircraft engine roars to life and the plane smoothly takes off. Mr. Jameel looks around, noticing other passengers getting ready to reach their destinations too.

They finally reach their cruise altitude, and the flight attendants start handing the passengers the first meal of the flight: an entrée of scrumptious Pakistani biryani, served with raita and garden salad. Mr. Jameel devours the food, the whole aura of the aircraft already making him feel at home. The flight crosses the Atlantic, flies over Europe and through the Middle East, while the in-flight entertainment keeps Mr. Jameel hooked to a classic Al Pacino flick. He puts his relaxed head back, and feels sleep greet his softly shutting eyelids. Now the plane is on its final approach to Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport. The plane aligns itself to the runway and makes a successful landing. Upon reaching its designated gate, PIA memorabilia is distributed among the passengers.

The gate opens. Mr. Jameel walks down the stairs and finally steps on the ground of his beloved country, breathing in the damp morning breeze of Karachi after fifteen years. He enters the terminal to see the familiar architecture and high-spirited airport staff. While he waits for his luggage to arrive, he looks back and realizes how the national carrier made his journey worthwhile; the service, the hospitality of the staff, the delightful traditional food, all were a pure reflection of Pakistan in that one jet. He thought how he could have chosen to fly with British Airways, but he chose PIA instead, because it offered a blend of competence and patriotism.

This was the story of a patriotic passenger returning home after fifteen years from a foreign land, and how, choosing to travel with his national airline was the best decision he made at that time. There used to be a time when even people from nationalities like the United States of America and Great Britain used to prefer PIA as their top travel option. PIA was at its glorious peak during that time, but as the years passed, the conditions of this prestigious organization began to deteriorate at a fast rate. Let us delve into the history of this majestic carrier and look through its triumphs and successes, investigating as to why, when and how this airline started meeting the fate it did not deserve.

Pakistan International Airline, as we know it, was established as 'Orient Airways', registered in Calcutta on 23 October, 1946. In February 1947, the airline bought three DC-3 airplanes from a company in Texas, and obtained a license to fly in May of the same year. When Pakistan came into being, Orient Airways conducted the charitable task of executing relief operations for the people who were migrating to the new land. In 1955, the government proposed that the new airline ‘Pakistan International Airlines,’ be merged with Orient Airways. The newly formed airline not only served domestic routes, but also international routes with its newly purchased Lockheed aircrafts. This was a major milestone in the history of Pakistan International Airlines.

In the year 1959, the appointment of Air Marshal Nur Khan as the Managing Director of PIA constituted the era of massive triumph for the beloved national carrier. The airline acquired Boeing 707 which was the gem of the jet age from Pan Am and became the first airline in Asia to behold such a technology. PIA started its first route across the Atlantic Ocean in 1961 from The John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. In the same year, we proudly made the shortest duration flight from Karachi to London, which still stands as a world record. In 1964, PIA was the first airline in the world to fly to Communist China; this proved to mark the beginning of friendly diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of China. In the 1970’s, PIA launched The Pakistan International Airlines Cargo, and operated it on a wide variety of routes.

In the 1980’s and 90’s, PIA acquired Airbus A300’s, A310’s and Boeing 737’s, making it the first Asian Airline to have a diverse fleet. In late 1987 and early 1988, services to Malé and Toronto were introduced. In 1989. Later, PIA included the Queen of Skies Boeing 747’s into the fleet which were purchased from Cathay Pacific. PIA also became world’s first airline to introduce in-flight entertainment system.

In the 2000’s, PIA started the replacement of its Fokker Aircrafts with Aerospatiale ATR-42’s which would operate on short-range routes. In 2006 PIA acquired Boeing’s finest creations, the Boeing 777 jets. These were wide body jets crafted to cover long distances, such as the Karachi to Toronto non-stop route; this made PIA the first Asian Airline to soar 777’s into the skies. The airline went on to conduct the first longest non-stop flight across the world in one of their Boeing 777’s - setting a fresh world record.

As history is a series of marvels and tragedies, the national carrier also went through rough times owing to some extremely morose aviation disasters .PIA flight 705 crashed on approach to Cairo’s international Airport in 1965, on its maiden flight to Egypt. The cause of the unfortunate crash was the unusual and untimely descent which resulted in a collision. Now a memorial tablet is placed at the mass grave in Cairo for those who died on this flight .On another episode, PIA flight 268 crashed on its approach to Kathmandu airport in Nepal. This marked PIA’s greatest disaster as the flight was host to international tourists and resulted in the tragic loss of 167 lives.

In recent years, PIA has been victim to Pakistan’s transitioning economy and negative political scenario, resulting in its disproportionate dive into a sea of major loss. In addition to this, the European Union ban on PIA’s Boeing 747-300’s was a big economic blow for the airline; it was placed due to the unsafe conditions of the planes. This organization in particular was marred with massive economic corruption, leading to a total decline of the commendable image it once had -- the time when international travelers used to prefer travelling with this airline.

The current condition of this airline reflects a sad period of decline. This is largely due to the chaotic political climate in Pakistan. The politicians are marred with corruption; and in their greed for acquiring stacks of money, they ignore the airline which serves the whole nation no matter what. The economic transition of the country has played a major role in crippling the very basis of the airline. The problem does not only lie within the higher authorities, but also within the staff working on normal designations, who they have contaminated the organization by conducting acts of insincerity.

The image of the airline has rapidly gone low in the eyes of Pakistanis, and they now choose to travel via international airlines, such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Thai Airways. What they fail to realize is that it was because PIA, that these airlines are functioning today; it was PIA who helped set-up these airlines, and assisted them to such an extent that they even leased their aircrafts to them. People fail to recognize the fact that it will be their dedication to this airline, which will truly help improve the conditions of PIA. This dedication, at the very best, needs to be in the form of travelling with PIA and promoting it.

It is time that the current government begins a rigorous change in the administrative system and recruits people who will look after the airline in all operational slots, inclusive of Finance, Operations and Management. The government needs to allot a greater share of budget to the airline’s improvement. There is a need to revive and inculcate loyalty towards the airline, starting from the Board of Directors to the pilots, and even to the janitorial staff who are responsible for cleaning the aircrafts after the flights. The Directors need to ensure the maintenance of the aircrafts by regulating their operations, so that aircrafts which work on long range routes are not wasted on short routes like Karachi to Lahore. A transformation is required to improve the ambiance of the plane, and introduction of the in-flight entertainment services are a must in order to provide passengers with the comfort for which they pay. Indeed, the populace understands that although achieving all of these goals is a daunting task, it is not an impossible one. What the nation advises the government is to embark on this journey of transformation.

Mr. Jameel travelled via one of PIA’s most revenue-generating routes in history which was terminated a few years ago due to the negligence of people.

My dream is to see PIA aircrafts spreading their wings wide again, and covering all the long and short distance routes with glamour. Nonetheless, being a patriot and an aviation enthusiast, my love for this airline will always remain the same. Seeing the recent administrational developments, I hope that our beloved national carrier will return to its former glory.

In the end it will always be ‘PIA: Great People to Fly With!’.

Written By: Ihsan Arsalan