PIA's recent decline in revenue, especially during the last quarter, which includes the peak summer period, should have raised a lot of eyebrows in Islamabad.
The Ministry of Finance must have cause for concern, because of the huge cash injection made by the federal government. Perhaps the immense capital investment made in the procurement of expensive new aircrafts and expansion of capacity was a miscalculation.
The decline in passenger traffic is also due to strict visa restrictions imposed by the European countries and America. One of the factors that aggravated visa issuance by the UK was the increase of passengers with invalid fake travel documents, allowed to travel by the FIA staff recruited recently. This coupled with the discrimination against Muslims, have made matters worse. The other factor is the payment of lease instalments.
The PIA should pause to reconsider this mad rush to procure new aircrafts, which are not commercially feasible, given the decline in passenger revenues, rise in fuel costs etc. Economic sanity should prevail over other considerations, which may be commissions or kickbacks by a few.
Pressure to induct Boeing 7E7s must be resisted, if kickbacks are not the over-riding factor.
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