PIA has had CEOs of the stature of Nur Khan, Rafique Saigol etc, whose tenure had a long lasting and positive impact on working of the national airline. These men of vision motivated the employees and actually turned around the airline, instead of terrorising and bullying them.
They were accessible to all segments of workers, and no senior executive was allowed to humiliate a subordinate. The airline had a fleet, which was compatible with the passenger's profile, revenues and the environment. In those days PIA was one of the few Pakistani organisations, whose officers were highly educated. The working conditions were excellent and the customer was he (KING) in real terms not the just verbal rhetoric, we now have to bear with.
Things started going bad when political appointments became the norm and they resorted to massive abuse of discretionary powers, which never existed people, but today have assumed a stature, and have replaced corporate ethics and rules. The net result of all this was a cancerous decline in administrative and financial discipline.
Procurement of technical spare parts, aircraft leasing and purchase, flight kitchen purchase etc, became a victim of the insatiable appetite of a corrupt lobby that has ruled PIA's executive corridors. Politically dominated unions also contributed to PIA's decline.
Deterioration of law and order within Pakistan and in particular nation's financial capital Karachi, further added to the enormous woes of a sick organisation. Tourism evaporated overnight and so did PIA's revenues.
In one stroke an incompetent and corrupt management decided to sell brand new DC-10s in 1984. Who prepared the feasibility report of this infamous deal, was none other than a former DMD. Technical stores purchase was the next target, followed by the purchase of huge stocks of computers that rotted in stores and were not usable. Instead of setting things right, the management started saving on passenger services.
Frequency of flights was reduced and an airline that went to every known destination had to slash its route structure. Inspite of this, nobody has been held accountable, instead the management resorted to fudging figures and balance sheets computerised records maintained intentionally. Lateral entries into key positions of men with no aviation background or professional competence and qualifications further aggravated the situation. Today PIA is dominated by mediocrity.
The new chairman is a man from the corporate sector. He needs to understand that the systems have to be incorporated which at the press of a button will dish out all the records that relate to reservation, revenues, stores inventory etc.
New aircrafts alone will not resolve the issue, as has been demonstrated by the never-ending teething problems on the 777s. The A-310s leased by the team that preceded him are not up to the mark.
Those who were sent to evaluate them failed miserably. PIA's only asset today is its loyal Pakistani clientele and the pilots, engineers, cabin crew and other human resources. The salary bill of PIA is lower than 18.2% of the total operating cost, while the industry average is over 23.5%.
Revenue leakage's, theft and financial indiscipline are the cause, and those involved in this plunder are a few, who have powerful godfathers to save them.
PIA needs to proceed cautiously by first winning over the clients that have left it, because of poor reservation systems and a hostile Mafia, which controls it. Rising fuel costs, payment of instalments due for the new and leased aircraft's etc must not be allowed to compromise on passenger services and operational safety.
Those responsible for the mess must be held accountable. Otherwise no headway will be made.