News Clippings 

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Dear Member, Members coming for Transition Training Courses to KHI shall be accommodated in Airport Hotel during training period on Airlines expense. Rgds, PRESIDENT

Dear Member, By the grace of Allah and untiring efforts of EC, PCAA has issued directives to DFO to implement ATR operation with 1 captain and 2 FOs vide letter No. HQCAA/1076/003FSAC dated 6th Feb 2014. This will enable ATR FOs to enhance professional experience....

Dear Member, By the grace of Allah, untiring efforts of the EC, management has issued directives to CFO to implement revised taxation as agreed by Finance Division vide letter No. 4(74)/2000-F-11 dated 24th Jan 2014. The affectivity of the proposed exemption is from...

Dear Member, ECs efforts has finally paid off, 4 months $ allowance has been released. We are thankful to the Chairman & MD PIAC to resolve this long awaited issue. PALPA is also grateful to the membership for their patience and cooperation. Next on the agenda of...

CONGRATULATION, Dear Member, The Honourable prime Minister has graciously revised Tax On Flying allownace to 5%. Notification by Aviation Division has been received by PALPA in this regard. Detail shell be sent through a FLASH. Regards, President

ALARM BELLS RING PIA staff held a March and banners of protest against Mian Mansha and Nawaz Shareef as per the media this government has agreed to sell 26% shares to Mian Mansha Group and part with control of the airline, this is so dramatic and smells foul. How can...

Dear Member, PC LHE is not honouring our patronage and refusing rooms to our members. The domestic hotels agreement has been raised with the Flt Ops earlier but to our detriment it was left unaddressed. PALPA will not accept any down gradation of hotels and all crew...

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Dear Member, PALPA AGM has been postponed till Mon 4th Nov 2013 at 1700 hrs in Garden Hall PC, ISB, due to PIAC Board meeting scheduled on 31st Oct & 1st Nov 2013 in KHI, where PALPA will make a presentation. Kindly note the change and make yourself available for...

LAHORE, Oct 11: The Joint Action Committee of Pakistan International Airlines Employees (JACPIAE) has suggested short-and long-term measures to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to make it profitable again, requesting him to drop the idea of its privatisation as it is no solution to the problem.

“No airline can survive if its one-third fleet is grounded for want of spares,” the JACPIAE said in a letter to the PM. It said the move was a wrong option in view of the fact that private airlines like Aero Asia, Bhoja Air and Rajhi Airline had already been closed. “Air Blue is already in the red light.”

It said the situation was not beyond the grasp of collective wisdom and endeavors. Some basic and productive steps might see the renaissance of PIA’s past glory.

The PIA employees suggested following measures to save the airline from a financial collapse.

IMMEDIATE STEPS: Aircraft B-777 should be operated on long routes. This aircraft is basically designed for a minimum of 7 and a 1/2 hrs per landing to be able to retain its operational life for long period. Its operation to destinations like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Middle East countries is surly a losing proposition.

The entire fleet can be made airworthy by procuring spares.

The letter said in view of high fuel costs no airline could make profit solely on passengers alone. Therefore, freight service must be introduced. At least for a period of five years, custom duty on aircraft spare parts, levy of 24 per cent sales tax, 16 per cent additional sales tax and five per cent income tax should not be applied.

It said heavy charges levied by the Civil Aviation Authority be reviewed and suitably curtailed.

Political appointments in management cadre should be stopped and appointment of only professional be ensured.

SHORT TERM MEASURES: While purchasing/leasing short route/fuel efficient aircraft similarity of equipment corresponding to present technical infrastructure must remain as a prime factor to avoid loss of precious foreign exchange by sending the equipment for overhaul/repair abroad.

Technical ground support equipment should be upgraded to assure on time safe aircraft departures.

To revive the EASA-145 approval necessary funds be provided to the engineering department to rectify the discrepancies and upgrade the technical infrastructure.

Upgradation of engineering infrastructure to develop in-house infrastructure for B-777 and ATR-42 aircraft equipment overhaul/ repair facility. This will save huge amount of foreign exchange.

Isphahani Hangar Facilities should be upgraded to match international requirements. “Even drinking water is not available there”.

FIVE-YEAR PLAN: Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) required facilities should be created to boost revenue. In this connection jet hangar be upgraded to cater to outside party aircraft.

Currently, small engines of privately owned aircraft are being sent abroad for overhaul. A facility for this purpose can be created with a low cost. Once it is created and approved, the government should ban such engines to be sent abroad since the facility will be available in Pakistan.

A separate hangar be constructed and equipped to handle outside party aircrafts.

The employees further say the PIA is blessed with highly qualified and experienced professionals (except those who sneaked through the back door due to favoritism/nepotism).

“We truly believe that concrete steps can take PIA out of the operational paralysis and make it a profitable organisation and a pride for the people of Pakistan,” the letter says.

KARACHI: In its first meeting, a special committee constituted to find ways to cut avoidable expenses of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) adopted 14 proposals, which range from single-engine taxi to selling unused parts of discarded planes, it was announced on Monday.

Secretary Aviation and Acting Chairman PIA, Muhammad Ali Gardezi, has ordered the immediate implementation of these measures which are expected to help save Rs1 billion a year, the committee said in a statement.

Dubbed the ‘Way Forward Committee’, it includes Captain Sohail Baloch, First Officer Syed Chakar Ali Shah, aeronautical engineer Syed Zakir Farooq, flight purser Noor Laghari and other members.

It was formed several weeks ago as employees presented a detailed report to government officials on possible ways to help PIA stop the financial haemorrhage, in an attempt to stave off privatisation.

The proposals include seeking direct flying routes for the airlines between cities within Pakistan. At present domestic carriers take long detours, burning extra fuel, as some routes are used by security forces.

Importance is being given to training pilots locally and avoid foreign tours.

The committee ordered a revised taxi uplift fuel on all aircraft which could save approximately Rs32 million a year.
To cut the amount of paper used, printed pay slips and casual leave applications will now be processed electronically, saving Rs3 million. To curb misuse of medical benefits, the pay slips will now carry details about the facilities used.

A huge inventory of spare parts of B-747, A-300, B-707 and other aircrafts, which are no longer in use, has been lying with PIA for years. It is worth an estimated $48 million. The committee has recommended that these should be sold immediately.

Perhaps the most important proposal was made regarding the way PIA buys spare parts for its planes. The committee wants management to buy parts from the open market, which consists of multiple vendors, instead of relying on just a few suppliers.

Another proposal includes changing the menu on all one-hour long flights in such a way that use of steel trolleys is eliminated on. The reduced weight helps save fuel cost.

“The committee is undertaking a stringent audit of oil consumption to reduce fuel expense. One of the members said that even with half the fleet in service, the airline’s fuel bill had not come down,” the statement said.

An audit of all agreements regarding hotel and transport at all domestic and international destinations will also be carried out.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2013.

KARACHI: Aviation Secretary and Acting Chairman PIA, Muhammad Ali Gardezi, has ordered the immediate implementation of measures identified by the Way Forward” committee to ensure revenue enhancement and cost curtailment at the ailing national airline.

The “Way Forward” committee, formed to rejuvenate the national flag carrier, conducted its first marathon session with PIA management last week with DMD Engineering Qasim Masood leading the session.

The committee identified and recommended measures that only needed the issuance of directives and would result in saving worth Rs1 billion. Gardezi appreciated the committee’s work and asked the committee to recommend “out of the box” solutions to reduce expenses in operations without compromising safety. The acting chairman PIA also approved 14 proposals submitted by the committee and requested further information on six other proposals.

He emphasised improvement in the airline’s co-branding efforts, website and mobile applications. Gardezi also requested the committee to explore cost-effective options for in-flight Wi-Fi, plans to reduce electricity and other utilities and the immediate implementation of in-flight entertainment programme.

The committee has managed to bring all three stakeholders i.e. Civil Aviation, Air Force and PIA on the negotiation table to deliberate and finalise changes to ensure direct commercial routes between different destinations in the country.

Other recommendations by the committee include, the transition of 30 senior ATR First officers’ directly to Airbus A310, allowing them to bypass the Boeing 737, a process expected to save the ailing airline $1.3 million. In addition, simulator training sessions held outside the country have been readjusted to efficiently use the instructor and simulator, a move that will help reduce the airline’s expense in foreign exchange as simulation of ATR and Boeing 737 are undertaken in the Far East and European countries. The immediate restructuring of these sessions are expected to save the ailing airline over Rs8 million.

The committee also ordered a revised taxi uplift fuel on all aircraft. The plan also includes a power up procedure after take off at 1000ft as per international standards on non-mountainous regions such as Karachi and Lahore. The plan will ensure better engine performance and fuel consumption in take off sequences and result in savings over Rs32 million a year.

A paperless environment at PIA has also been recommended. For starters, printed pay slips for employees above Group 5 have been replaced by electronic pay slips. The move is expected to save the airline Rs3 million. A substantial inventory of aircraft spares which are not in PIA service anymore have also been identified to be sold at $48 million by the committee.

The redesign of in-flight manuals for the cabin crew has also been recommended. The committee also suggested a revamp of snack services on all one-hour cruise domestic and regional flights with immediate effect, a move expected to save Rs54 million.

The committee is also undertaking a stringent audit of oil consumption to reduce fuel-related expenses at the ailing airline. A member of the committee said the airline’s fuel bill had not come down despite only half the fleet in service.

The committee has also decided to undertake a strict audit of all agreements regarding hotel and transport at all PIA domestic and international destinations.

Source: The News

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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will open on Monday (today) first bid for obtaining 10 additional aircraft on lease, to improve its services and overcome losses.

Although the PIA management has sought financial bids for acquiring 10 aircraft either on lease or on payment, it prefers the former option, according to sources.

“We are opening two separate bids for obtaining 10 additional aircraft on lease or on purchase on Sept 30 and April 4, respectively,” PIA spokesman Mashhood Tajwar told Dawn.

He said that negotiations were under way with different banks for loans to get the planes on lease because even in case of lease PIA would have to pay some initial amount to the contractors or the aircraft companies.

When asked whether acquisition of the ten aircraft could help scuttle the government’s plans to privatise the airline, Mr Tajwar said it would help ease the financial crisis being faced by the company.

“At least a monthly loss of Rs3 billion would be controlled after the new planes become operational,” he remarked. “Out of the Rs3bn loss, Rs1bn goes to repayment of international loans, Rs1bn to payment for fuel and Rs500 million to retirement of local loans.”

He said the PIA’s total liabilities amounted to Rs250bn whereas the worth of its assets ran into trillions of rupees.

It has been learnt that the government’s announcement regarding privatisation has served to bring about some improvement in the airline’s efficiency.

“We find some improvement in the efficiency of the PIA,” acknowledged an office-bearer of the Pakistan Air Line Pilots Association (Palpa). A senior official of the PIA said three under-repair aircraft were inducted into the airline’s fleet of operational aircraft this week, taking the total number of such planes to 24.

Meanwhile, PIA employees have decided to move the Supreme Court against the proposed privatisation of their company.

They demand of the government to make at least one “sincere attempt” to bring the organisation to its feet before going for privatisation of 26 per cent of its shares, as announced by Nawaz Sharif.

One of their major demands is that the government should carry out an audit to ascertain real worth of the company’s assets, which is said to be in trillions, and its total liabilities.

The decision to move the court against the government’s plan was taken by the recently-formed Joint Action Committee (JAC) which comprises associations of PIA officers and employees.

The JAC feels that the national carrier can be revived and its losses can be curtailed through better planning, including induction of some new aircraft into its fleet.

“We have consulted our legal team and decided to put our complaints before the Supreme Court,” a member of the JAC and secretary general of the PIA Corporation Employees Union, Obaid Ullah, said.

He said that PIA employees held 12 per cent shares of the airline but the government had not taken them into confidence before announcing the plans for privatisation. “We believe that 21,000 employees of PIA will get justice from the Supreme Court,” he said without elaborating.

The federal cabinet recently approved the proposed privatisation plan.

According to the PIA management, the monthly loss of Rs3bn was not because of overstaffing but due to debt retirement and heavy consumption of fuel by outdated aircraft. If the airline acquired 10 to 15 additional aircraft the organisation could overcome its monthly loss, an office-bearer of Palpa said.

At present PIA has a fleet of 32 aircraft, of which 24 are in operation. But those in operation are 15 to 20 years old and, therefore, consume great amounts of fuel.

A related problem is that big aircraft are being used for short routes because the organisation does not have small planes for domestic routes. It has also been learnt that one of PIA’s hotels — the Roosevelt in New York — got an offer of $5bn a couple of years ago, but the Privatisation Commission did not accept the offer. One of the PIA hotels is located in the expensive Champs-Élysées area of Paris, and its price is said to be over $2bn. Another PIA hotel is in the UAE.

Source: Dawn News

Amidst government announcement that it would offer 26 percent shares of Pakistan International Airlines to strategic investors with management control, as a first step towards its privatisation and stiff resistance by the employees, Chairman, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Muhammad Ali Gardezi has formed a “Way Forward” committee to provide solutions for revenue enhancement and cost curtailment with the aim of rejuvenating the airline to move towards regaining its past glory.

The committee will be headed by President, Pakistan Airline Pilots’ Association (PALPA), Captain Suhail Baloch as the team leader while First Officer, Chakar Ali Shah will be the secretary, according to a notification issued here. The committee has been formed by the chairman after due deliberations over the multifaceted challenges confronting PIA today. ‘Its committee would define the way forward plan for PIA. Our aim is to find solutions to enable PIA enhance its revenues, cut costs, and improve organisational efficiencies,’ said Suhail Baloch.

Committee’s objectives include: to recommend methodologies for effective implementation of the ‘Fly Smart’ programme; to define the contours of the ‘Flight Watch’ programme and recommending its effective implementation in PIA; to recommend changes to the current PIA website management, and develop mobile applications to facilitate to and fro communications between PIA and its valued passengers/customers.

As per rules, the team leader of the committee would have the mandate to co-opt additional members, as and when deemed necessary and would be administratively facilitated by providing it with suitable office space within the head office premises to start work from the first week of next month. PALPA had presented excellent programmes named ‘Fly Smart’ and ‘Flight Watch’ aimed at saving billions of rupees by optimising the usage of resources. One of the main aims of the committee is to implement these programs. The fly smart programme was presented to management early this year but it was not given any importance until Secretary Aviation, Muhammad Ali Gardezi took over as Chairman PIA and didn’t waste time in constituting this committee.

The programme consists of different cost saving issues:

— Minimisation of turnaround time, which will increase aircraft availability for proper maintenance.

— Training and procedural instructions for one engine taxi after landing for fuel conservation.

— Minimum use of APU, (aircraft’s back up power generating systems)

— Reduce contingency fuel, to 3 percent from 5 percent to bring practice to international norms

— Smart alternate airport selection

— Persuade Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to install Instrument Landing Systems (ILS).

The biggest challenge for the committee will be the fuel saving measures’ implementation, as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) burned 207.83 million gallons of fuel in a year (from January 2012 to December 2012) which cost Rs 62 billions, 56 percent of the total expenses of the national airline. With exchange rate going out of the roof around 106 PKR to a dollar it is likely to impact the airline’s payment procedures, while the airlines revenue in foreign exchange will provide some relief, its fuel payments will inflict a huge blow.

Talking to Business Recorder Captain Suhail Baloch said that the huge fuel consumption due to aging fleet is making the national airline a failing entity, therefore, the need of the time is to take immediate steps towards reducing fuel cost through adopting various measures.

‘The phase one of Fly Smart program, beside focusing on fuel saving, will help maintain schedule integrity and punctuality as per industry practice, and similar type of aircrafts with similar engines should be inducted which will result not only in substantial savings in recurring maintenance cost but will also save on the crew conversion cost. In the second phase, after the consolidation and maintaining at least a breakeven level, the airline could embark on a fleet modernisation/expansion plan for the medium term period.

Under the initiative the committee is also likely to review different contracts which PIA needs to review/evaluate and then renegotiate some of its agreements to favour the national flag carrier. The agreements that need to be revised include: SABRE Agreement, Insurance Agreement, Loan/Financial Cost Agreement, B-777 Purchase Agreement, Fuel Purchase Agreement within Pakistan and abroad, Technical Handling Agreement, Lease/Rental Policy for Equipment, Interline Agreement, Ticket Sales Agency Agreement, Cargo handling Agreement, Courier Service Agreement, Clearing Forwarding Agreement, and Engine PW 4127 Overhaul Agreement.

Deliberating on the reasons of revising the agreements, a source in PIA said ‘if all insurance agreements (below access policy) are renegotiated, saving of Rs 100 million per annum is expected. Similarly, if the said loans/financial liabilities are restructured we expect a saving of Rs 500 million per annum for 10 years.’

Furthermore, regarding B-777 purchase agreement, the deal was signed between Boeing Company and Axiom Bank and a guarantee was given by the two that direct routes will be available for PIA to and from North America/Pakistan. ‘PIA should now claim compensation against not getting the direct routes or at least ask that the loan should be restructured as the homeland security has declined direct flights of PIA,’ the source said.

Also, at present PIA is paying approximately Rs 62 billion per annum with regard to fuel purchase. ‘If the contracts are reviewed and if the market is explored aggressively, we could surely save 5 percent of the total amount ie around Rs 3.1 billion per annum. Similarly, PIA needs to review its technical handling agreement at out stations and we should make ourselves capable of giving technical/ground handling to other airlines in Pakistan,’ source suggested.

PIA could easily save Rs 15 million per annum if it negotiates its lease and rental agreements, claimed the association. ‘Through revising ticket sales agency agreement PIA could have Rs two billion per annum savings on sales commission. Besides, at the moment PIA is generating only Rs five billion on cargo handling which could very easily be increased to Rs 10 billion with proper marketing strategy.’ The fly smart programme also envisages an overhaul and repair capability developed in house which could save $10 million per annum for the national airline.

Source: Business Recorder

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Muhammad Ali Gardezi has formed a committee to provide recommendation for revenue enhancement and cost cutting with the aim of rejuvenating the ailing airline.

According to a notification, Captain Suhail Baluch has been made the team leader of the newly formed “Way Forward Committee” while First Officer Syed Chakar Ali Shah will be the committee’s secretary.

The committee was formed by the chairman after deliberations over the multifaceted challenges confronting PIA. “The committee would define the plan going forward for PIA.

Our aim is to find solutions to enable PIA to enhance its revenues, cut costs, and improve organizational efficiencies,” said Baluch.

The objectives of the committee include recommending methodologies for effective implementation of the “fly smart” programme, define the contours of the “flight watch” programme and its effective implementation, recommend changes to the current PIA website management, and develop mobile applications to facilitate communication between PIA and its valued customers.

As per rules, the team leader of the committee would have the mandate to co-opt additional members, as and when deemed necessary.

PALPA, the pilots’ association of the airline had recently recommended the implementation of the “fly smart” and “flight watch” programmes, which are aimed at saving billions of rupees by optimising the usage of resources. One of the main aims of the committee is to implement these programmes.

Source: The News International

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Muhammad Ali Gardezi has formed a committee headed by Captain Suhail Baluch to provide solutions for revenue enhancement and cost curtailment with the aim of rejuvenating the airline to move towards regaining its past glory.

According to a notification, Captain Baluch has been made the team leader of the newly formed ‘Way Forward’ Committee while First Officer Syed Chakar Ali Shah will be the committee’s secretary.

The committee has been formed by the chairman after due deliberations over the multifaceted challenges confronting PIA today. ‘The committee would define the way forward plan for PIA. Our aim is to find solutions to enable PIA to enhance its revenues, cut costs, and improve organisational efficiencies,’ said Baluch.

The objectives of the committee include: to recommend methodologies for effective implementation of the ‘Fly Smart’ program; to define the contours of the ‘Flight Watch’ programme and recommending its effective implementation in PIA.

Source: Daily Times

KARACHI: Pakistan Airline Pilots’ Association (PALPA) said on Tuesday that any action by PIA management to ensure the safety of passengers would be supported by the association.

A spokesman for the association hailed the management’s decision for pilots to undergo a mandatory medical checkup before flights to ensure aviation safety.

“Flight safety has been the prime concern of the pilot community while the Leeds incident only endorsed what the association has been highlighting since the last few years,” said the PALPA spokesman.

He went on to add that PALPA would not compromise on flight safety issues and would not allow its members to break the rules. “The safety of passengers should not be jeopardized in any case.”

Source: The News

KARACHI, Sept 23 (APP): The Managing Director of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Junaid Yunus, has expressed the optimism that the National Flag Carrier would attain break even in a year’s time. He was addressing a news conference at the PIA Head Office here on Monday. Junaid pointed out that the management of the PIA has submitted four options to the relevant authorities for the necessary approval. He said that the management would work in coordination with the employees to stem the losses, streamline the affairs of the airline and to make it a viable entity because it is a national asset.

“ If the PIA has a fleet of 38 to 40 aircraft this will help the airline to stand on its own feet”, the Managing Director remarked.

He said that efforts are also being undertaken towards the fuel saving and pointed out that PIA’s fuel bill is to the extent of 56 per cent of its revenue.

Junaid also referred to the increasing prices of fuel as well as the upward trend of the US dollars.

He maintained that the PIA does not need money and that what it needs is aircraft.

“ This airline has a lot of potential to stand on its own feet”, the MD remarked.

Replying to a question about the losses, he was of the view that the PIA was paying interest to the tune of Rs one billion per month on the loans.Apart from this installments of Exim Bank etc. are also being paid.

Junaid said that the airline is also undertaking cost-cutting measures.

“ Now, we have made airworthy eight aircraft and the credit for this goes to the Engineering Department”, said he adding that the total number of fleet become 29.

To another question, the Managing Director said that the strength of the PIA employees is 16,600 and in addition to this there are daily wagers also and their number is about 2,700.

He said that there would be no retrenchment.In the next five years quite a number of PIA employees would retire from the service and that there would be no induction against the posts thus become vacant.