PIA announces one-time 10 percent cut on international routes

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced a one time 10 percent reduction in fares for about a dozen international destinations on its network. Those fares would be available only for a limited period of 25 days ie between June 6 and June 30, a PIA spokesman told the Business Recorder here on Thursday. He clarified the impression erroneously, created in the minds of the people about fare reduction, stating categorically that it was not a "blanket reduction."
The instructions passed on by the PIA head office here to its sales offices reads as follows: " the management has approved reduction in the fares by about 10 percent of the existing market fare."
The fares chargeable during this period have also been mentioned and the cities where these fares would be applicable include New York, Chicago, Houston, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Athens, Rome and Milan, etc.
There was a time when the international fares were regulated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and all the IATA member carriers were bound to follow the fare structure designed by it. But, since the introduction and adoption of the open sky policy by most of the countries, the member carriers are no longer under obligation to follow the designated fares.
Prior to introduction of the open sky policy, Market Cleanup Boards were setup to check the unethical practice of undercutting in fares resorted to by airlines. But this system did not work as the airlines continued to offer reduced fares to fill in the seats which otherwise would go empty.
According to aviation experts, the PIA is in no position at this point of time to sustain reduction in fares on permanent basis on its dependable routes where the seat factor is more or less 100 percent, ie, UK, USA and Canada.
And high fuel costs coupled with other expenses may not allow the PIA to play for a longer time, the jingle of "fare reduction" on its domestic and international network to please the senate''s standing committee on the PIA.