They say too many chefs spoil the broth. The question is, who do you blame? The chefs, who all try to incorporate their recipes on a dish which was already in the process of being prepared? Or is it the restaurant manager who did not place trust in the abilities of the first chef to complete it and summoned the additional chefs?
Now imagine this analogy applying to a multi-million dollar airline. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the once pioneer of the aviation industry has been struggling for over two decades now to sustainably turn around. Being a state-owned organization, various regimes have tried to bring their “people” at the helm of affairs to manage the troubled airline and change its course towards profitability.
However, history has shown us that these regimes have a very short span of patience as they expected overnight miracles when they had hired the head of PIA. When these expectations are not met, the incumbent is sent packing and a new saviour is appointed till the owner loses its patience again.
As a result, what happens is that any effort made for improving things at PIA are pushed back to the drawing board as the new person in charge wants to do things “their way”. Now what we have learned from global airline turnarounds is that they take time and they require consistency.
Across PIA’s almost seventy-year-old legacy the average tenure of the head of PIA has been less than three years (the only individual to run PIA for a longer period is Air Marshal Nur Khan who had a stint of eleven years).
Unfortunately, in the past decade this average has come down to even lower i.e. a year. For an airline which is desperately seeking to hit profitability the median tenure is quite low.
Fortunately, since 2018 PIA has seen some stability as the current incumbent Air Marshal Arshad Malik (retd) has been around for over three years now. And this stability has clearly shown results as the airline despite challenges stemming from the pandemic and internal challenges has seen improvement in its financial numbers.
A clear testament of this is that PIA has consistently earned gross profit for two straight years, i.e., 2019 and 2020. In the same period, the airline has also reduced its operational losses. Similar results are also expected for 2021.
The airline has also witnessed improvements in the passenger experience as the airline has already added three young Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet while another four have also been announced for induction. Similarly, efforts have also be taken to expand the airline’s asset base through the recent purchase of six aircraft.
Arshad Malik’s management also implemented the much-needed Voluntary Separation Scheme at PIA which had become a necessity for the over-staffed airline. The management has also invested in improving employee morale through processing long- outstanding promotion boards and awarding a salary increment which has successfully translated into improved customer service for the airline.
All these initiatives have been reported in the news.
Moreover, despite the past two years being hit by COVID-19, the airline has expanded its network by introducing new and profitable destinations to its passengers such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Damascus and Najaf. This management also played a vital role in promoting local tourism when it connected the northern areas of Pakistan from not just Islamabad but also Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad and Sialkot.
These are some of the most notable milestones (but not the only ones) which have been achieved by the current management because the government has given it time to function. However, the grapevine has once become active that there might be plans to replace the current management because the competent authority might have yet again lost its patience. Being the principal owner of PIA, they can appoint anyone they may like to run the airline.
Albeit, that would mean that PIA goes through another vicious cycle where a new management first takes six months to a year to diagnose the problems, another six months to determine their plan of action and just when they will be gearing to implement that plan, the government will either complete its term or lose patience again.
Covid-19 has shown how external business environment can prove ruthless for the aviation sector.
PIA with all its financial problems is already on life support. Changing the doctor at this detrimental phase can prove to be a final nail in the coffin. Therefore, in order to achieve long-term stability for PIA, the government has to make sure that the current management is allowed to function at least till it completes its constitutional term in 2023.
Any good turnaround needs trust in the ability of the original chef while giving him the time and opportunity to complete his vision.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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