Pakistan International Arlines (PIA) : News / Updates

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

Capt. Johnny Sadiq with his wife Etsuko and a Japan-based PIA Air Hostess on PIA B747-200. In the background, a beautiful first-class cabin area can be seen.

 

[ghazi52]

 

[krash]

13 billion for 18 planes,

What’s wrong here is that there are multiple statements from different sources. Thus, no one knows for sure how much PIA is actually sold & bought for:

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18 planes? Typical Pakistani hearsay. PIA does not own 18 aircraft. I put in some leg work:

This is the list of PIA's fleet as per PIA. 32 aircraft in total out of which 14 (A320) + 2 (ATR-72) + 3 (777-200ER) + 1 (777-300ER) = 20 aircraft are leased and not owned by PIA. Out of the remaining twelve 1 (A320) + 1 (ATR-42) + 1 (777-200LR) + 2 (777-200ER) + 2 (777-300ER) = 7 aircraft are out of service and stored. That leaves 5 aircraft owned by PIA that are still active; 2 (ATR-42s), 1 (777-240LR), 1 (777-200ER), and 1 (777-300ER).


aparm.net
airfleets.net
piac.com.pk

Assuming that the aircraft are in their best possible condition (which they are not) and that the values given by AI are correct, the rough value of all active aircraft that PIA owns is 2*60 million (777-240LR) + 1*90 million (777-300ER) + 2*9 million (ATR-42) = $228 million. 75% share of these is $171 million in USD. We have no idea what condition the stored aircraft are in. Since PIA has been looking to buy more instead of restoring them, I'd guess they aren't worth much.

The government still owns 25% of PIA. 25% of the 90% of 135 billion PKR that are to be re-invested into PIA will go towards the Government's equity; 30.37 billion PKR. The total value the government received from this transaction is 30.37+13.5 = 43.87 billion PKR. That's $156 million USD, give or take. That leaves a difference of $15 million USD which can easily be accounted for by the liabilities, risks, losses, actual value of the aircraft, and the investment plan taken up by the buyers. Even if it cannot, good riddance.

premium 170 landing slots and the properties that are not even being named in the open domain.

Landing slots are not free or permanent property. The the new owners will need to pay for those slots which are auctioned every season.

What's not in the open domain? Everything is there if Pakistanis have enough sense to look for it. It's been repeated here at least a dozen times that no other properties were a part of this sale. All non-airline specific properties were separated into a holding company more than a year ago exactly so that the airline would be sold without them. The "properties" belong to PIA Investment Limited which was put in HoldCo alongside PEC, back in Feb 2024. What has been sold was the other holding entity TopCo which includes airline functions, including engineering, ground handling, flight kitchen, and training, that's it. The "properties" in HoldCo will be dealt with individually, like the on going efforts for Roosevelt Hotel or how PEC was.

PIA is deeply unprofitable because political appointments and overstaffing not because it was an inherent issue. I am a proponent of privatization for national companies but not like this tbh.

More uneducated Pakistani hearsay. PIA is unprofitable because along with corruption it has to contend with,

1) Airlines are inherently tough to profit from since post 1980s due to high costs and competition. Google the list of airlines that have gone belly up over the past 10 years. Also, google the number of airlines that have had to be sold due to financial turmoil. PIA, as it stands today, is peanuts compared to them. It is nowhere near the golden goose that Pakistanis fantasize it to be.

2) There is below par local demand due to low Pakistani purchasing power and smaller geographical size. You don't have any share of the international transit traffic that you did in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, either. That market is saturated by the Middle Eastern airlines and Turkish.

PIA will take years to be profitable after privatization, if ever. It will first need massive investment and restructuring by the new owners if it is to even make it through the next 10 years. These are all liabilities and risks that you had to sell.

Your primary aim was to offload a white elephant. That you got some money in return with assured future investment by the buyer is a miracle.

 

[Vapnope]

9

18 planes? Typical Pakistani hearsay. PIA does not own 18 aircraft. I put in some leg work:

This is the list of PIA's fleet as per PIA. 32 aircraft in total out of which 14 (A320) + 2 (ATR-72) + 3 (777-200ER) + 1 (777-300ER) = 20 aircraft are leased and not owned by PIA. Out of the remaining twelve 1 (A320) + 1 (ATR-42) + 1 (777-200LR) + 2 (777-200ER) + 2 (777-300ER) = 7 aircraft are out of service and stored. That leaves 5 aircraft owned by PIA that are still active; 2 (ATR-42s), 1 (777-240LR), 1 (777-200ER), and 1 (777-300ER).

View attachment 168562
aparm.net
airfleets.net
piac.com.pk

Assuming that the aircraft are in their best possible condition (which they are not) and that the values given by AI are correct, the rough value of all active aircraft that PIA owns is 2*60 million (777-240LR) + 1*90 million (777-300ER) + 2*9 million (ATR-42) = $228 million. 75% share of these is $171 million in USD. We have no idea what condition the stored aircraft are in. Since PIA has been looking to buy more instead of restoring them, I'd guess they aren't worth much.

The government still owns 25% of PIA. 25% of the 90% of 135 billion PKR that are to be re-invested into PIA will go towards the Government's equity; 30.37 billion PKR. The total value the government received from this transaction is 30.37+13.5 = 43.87 billion PKR. That's $156 million USD, give or take. That leaves a difference of $15 million USD which can easily be accounted for by the liabilities, risks, losses, actual value of the aircraft, and the investment plan taken up by the buyers. Even if it cannot, good riddance.



Landing slots are not free or permanent property. The the new owners will need to pay for those slots which are auctioned every season.

What's not in the open domain? Everything is there if Pakistanis have enough sense to look for it. It's been repeated here at least a dozen times that no other properties were a part of this sale. All non-airline specific properties were separated into a holding company more than a year ago. The "properties" belong to PIA Investment Limited which was put in HoldCo alongside PEC, back in Feb 2024. What has been sold was the other holding entity TopCo which includes airline functions, including engineering, ground handling, flight kitchen, and training, that's it. The "properties" in HoldCo will be dealt with individually, like the on going efforts for Roosevelt Hotel or how PEC was.



More uneducated Pakistani hearsay. PIA is unprofitable because along with corruption it has to contend with,

1) Airlines are inherently tough to profit from since post 1980s due to high costs and competition. Google the list of airlines that have gone belly up over the past 10 years. Also, google the number of airlines that have had to be sold due to financial turmoil. PIA, as it stands today, is peanuts compared to them. It is nowhere near the golden goose that Pakistanis fantasize it to be.

2) There is below par demand due to low Pakistani purchasing power and smaller geographical size. You don't have any share of the international transit traffic that you did in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. That market is saturated by the Middle Eastern airlines and Turkish.

PIA will take years to be profitable after privatization, if ever. It will first need massive investment by the new owners if it is to even make it through the next 10 years. These are all liabilities and risks that you had to sell.

Your primary aim was to offload a white elephant. That you got some money in return with assured future investment by the buyer is a miracle.

I wish instead of calling us uneducated pakistanis you had read the article that has details of everything that has been sold under the deal.

PIA to be run by new owners from April subject to approvals, says PM’s adviser

Insists that govt will be getting a total economic value of Rs55 from the airline's sale, hails PM's and Field Marshal Munir's supportive role in the process.

www.dawn.com

Moreover a little bit research have shown you that PIA is among the airlines that have highest number of employees per aircraft. Compare Qatar or Turkish airline vs PIA and you know the truth to what i said earlier about political appointments.

Employment ratio: PIA hires 500 employees per aircraft | The Express Tribune

Qatar Airways employees 133 per aircraft, Turkish Airlines 94, Emirates 231 and Etihad 211

tribune.com.pk

 

[krash]

9
I wish instead of calling us uneducated pakistanis you had read the article that has details of everything that has been sold under the deal.

PIA to be run by new owners from April subject to approvals, says PM’s adviser

Insists that govt will be getting a total economic value of Rs55 from the airline's sale, hails PM's and Field Marshal Munir's supportive role in the process.

www.dawn.com

You posted that article without reading it? It has no details of "everything that has been sold", it directly reinforces my argument, and it does not support your claim anywhere in anyway. I've provided you with sources to back up everything that I wrote, I wish you would read them instead of presenting typical uneducated and halfassed Pakistani sidesteps.

Moreover a little bit research have shown you that PIA is among the airlines that have highest number of employees per aircraft. Compare Qatar or Turkish airline vs PIA and you know the truth to what i said earlier about political appointments.

Employment ratio: PIA hires 500 employees per aircraft | The Express Tribune

Qatar Airways employees 133 per aircraft, Turkish Airlines 94, Emirates 231 and Etihad 211

tribune.com.pk

Read my post again and point out where I disagreed.

 

[ACE OF HEARTS]

No amount of money can justify it's privatisation.

And in some interview by Arif Habib....he gave many in the last few days....he said that " if someone thinks that the price is low, then he / she should come forward, quote the higher price, which he / she thinks is appropriate and buy it himself ".

 

[krash]

No amount of money can justify it's privatisation.

And that is because?

 

[ihussain]

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[imadul]

Time to give it a rest? This nonsense passed into embarrassment a long time ago.

PS: Jinnah was born in Karachi.

PPS: Orient Airways was staying afloat on Pakistani government subsidies, PIA's ground support, and PIA's aircraft, because it could not compete against BOAC. PIA bought three L-1049s for Orient to run on the longer routes, specifically between the East and West wings, because Orient itself did not have the capital to buy larger aircraft. The precise reason why Orient was merged into PIA was because Orient could not sustain itself without PIA aircraft, PIA ground support, and government subsidies. It was bought and merged with PIA in 1955 along with its two CV-240s and eleven DC-3s. The first time PIA recorded a profit was in 1960, thanks to the L-1049s and B-707 that it had acquired for long-haul routes and not because of the small CV-240s and DC-3s that it had received from Orient. PIA's "urooj" started when Nur Khan was appointed at the helm in 1959.




Totally. I mean, look at you.



Yeah, the buyer should've paid us to have the privilege of taking on that debt for a deeply unprofitable organization.

There was no PIA in Pakistan in 1947.
None in 1948 - 1955.
Why didn't the great Pakistan nation run PIA without asking for merger to a non-existent PIA?
Right, without Isphani and Mahmoodul Hasan, PIA was great Airline?
Have some moral courage and accept your ineptitude, defending corruption, racialism, injustice, cronyism, and abolishment of meritocracy.
You are sitting on barely 20 billion patch up forex. Perpetual Denial by self styled righteous people is so disgusting.
Now deny that Adamji, Dawud, and Habib Family did not give money to the nascent pak state because Jinnah asked them and somehow you found stash of $$$$ hidden by fauji foundation

 

[Vapnope]

You posted that article without reading it? It has no details of "everything that has been sold", it directly reinforces my argument, and it does not support your claim anywhere in anyway. I've provided you with sources to back up everything that I wrote, I wish you would read them instead of presenting typical uneducated and halfassed Pakistani sidesteps.



Read my post again and point out where I disagreed.

Oh we got an educated, above all expert in here

 

[Vapnope]

There was no PIA in Pakistan in 1947.
None in 1948 - 1955.
Why didn't the great Pakistan nation run PIA without asking for merger to a non-existent PIA?
Right, without Isphani and Mahmoodul Hasan, PIA was great Airline?
Have some moral courage and accept your ineptitude, defending corruption, racialism, injustice, cronyism, and abolishment of meritocracy.
You are sitting on barely 20 billion patch up forex. Perpetual Denial by self styled righteous people is so disgusting.
Now deny that Adamji, Dawud, and Habib Family did not give money to the nascent pak state because Jinnah asked them and somehow you found stash of $$$$ hidden by fauji foundation

He will go on to say we got the best deals of the deal. Dont expect morality from the people who think they are above everyone.

 

[ejaz007]

Rs 135 billion PIA bid cleared by Cabinet Committee on Privatization​

• Dar urges early finalisation of privatisation, hopes this will lead to PIA regaining past glory

Recorder Report Published December 31, 2025 Updated about 3 hours ago

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ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) on Tuesday approved the Rs 135 billion bid of the Arif Habib-led consortium for acquiring 75 percent shares of PIA and recommended its approval by the Cabinet.

The CCoP met here with Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar in the chair.

The Secretary, Ministry of Privatisation, provided a detailed briefing on the future course of action of PIACL’s Privatization.


The Deputy Prime Minister urged all concerned to take timely action to ensure early finalisation of the privatisation, with the hope and desire that this will lead to PIA regaining its past glory.

The meeting was attended by Ministers of Power, Advisors to the PM on Privatisation, Industry and Production; SAPMs Tariq Bajwa and Bilal Kiyani; Federal Secretaries of Cabinet, Privatisation, Defence, Law, Power, and Privatisation Commission, industries, and other senior officers from concerned departments.

The Pakistan International Airlines Retired Employees Association (PIAREA) thanked the government for the continuation of allowances and all other benefits following the privatisation of PIA.

The association conveyed its views during its 16th annual gathering held under the chairmanship of Syed Tahir Hassan. A large number of retired PIA employees attended the meeting, according to a press release.

PIAREA office-bearers said the government has assured the continuation of pensions, medical facilities, and concessional travel tickets for retired employees after the privatisation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Rs 135 billion PIA bid cleared by Cabinet Committee on Privatization

Dar urges early finalisation of privatisation, hopes this will lead to PIA regaining past glory

www.brecorder.com