View from Islamabad: PIA needs to review its range of services

The decision by Pakistan's state-owned airline, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), to consider the Canadian 'Dash 8-300' aircraft built by Bombardier Inc. to replace its ageing Fokker aircraft, almost marks the end of an all too important round of aircraft replacement. If the Dash deal goes through, it will follow earlier plans to acquire the Boeing 777 and Airbus aircraft.

In the past year, the PIA has for the first time emerged from its perennial losses marked by increased indebtedness and over-staffing. The pitiful past state of PIA coincided with increasing staff inefficiency and falling quality of service. Once known as one of the best airlines in its surrounding region, PIA's days of promise are now a distant memory.

The first sign of PIA's turn around is the consequence of a strong push by its management in the past three years in beginning to tackle some of the root causes of its financial malaise.

Cash injections

In addition to attempts at improvements in overall efficiency and quality of service, PIA's management has sought selective cash injections by the Pakistani government. The result has been the visible reduction of PIA's debt servicing burden.

But the first sign of success will be hard to sustain unless backed by a vigorous push to sustain PIA's gains. PIA has to learn lessons from some of the world's must successful airlines, whose success has been the consequence of quality management and the push for top of the line service.

At a time when air travellers have become increasingly demanding in seeking some of the best types of services, PIA has to review a range of its services from booking systems and booking facilities to inflight cabin service.

To some extent, PIA is, indeed, the beneficiary of some selectively captive markets. One of the larger sources of PIA revenue is passengers for the annual pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia known as the 'Haj'.

Most Pakistani pilgrims prefer to travel PIA rather than other airlines, attracted to the benefit of direct flights without any stop-overs.

Backbone

The captive 'Haj' passenger market can certainly work as an important backbone in providing PIA with an assured sum of annual revenue, giving it badly needed financial space to carry out a reform plan.

The arrival of new aircraft will not only help PIA reduce the considerable maintenance cost of old aircraft but also set the pace for attracting a relatively more savvy clientele. Frequent travellers may not be instantly attracted to PIA in view of its reputation, though a strong push by the airline to attract more passengers must eventually bear fruit.

Faced with the challenge of transition, there are still some within PIA's senior management who point towards official policies such as the open skies one where a small group of airlines from foreign countries have generously been given landing rights in Pakistan. Such officials are bound to constantly press the government to review its policies.

Even if there's merit in the argument that a little bit of helpful protection could give PIA a long awaited boost, the ultimate challenge of turning around Pakistan's state air carrier must be tied more to its recognition among passengers as an improving quality airline rather than policy-related changes.

The writer is a Pakistan-based journalist