Skidding, crash landing, heroin in rooftop, drugs in the baggage, ghosts in the crew. No, you guessed it wrong - it is not a scene from Scream 4 the horror movie but sadly a tale of sorrow of our national airline. Pakistan International Airline is a representation of how deep the institutional rot is. As an institution, it is a microcosm of years of inefficient management and very efficient corruption. For years, it has been financially unviable, for years it has been politically infiltrated, for years each government makes turnaround plans for it and for years, it has been turning around but in the wrong direction. Thus when the present government has announced yet another reform plan for this chronically ailing institution it has met with a touch of déjà vu.
While it is heartening to note that some pruning is being done on certain ends, it is worth noticing that pruning at the surface will not eliminate the virus in the roots. The recent announcements were a good signal of some tinkering on the jaded institution. Some pilots have been laid off due to faked degree verification and the airhostesses have been asked to shed off weight or sit at home. All cabin crew members who weigh 30 pounds over the set limit are supposed to lose five pounds every month till July of this year. If any crew member is found above 30 lbs from the standard weight after January 31, 2019, he or she will be grounded and referred to Air Crew Medical Center for medical evaluation and treatment until weight is reduced up to standard BMI.
While this weight shedding initiative is creditable let us hope it does not end here. A smart appearance is a must for the people who serve people. However, what is required is more smartness in behaviour, attitude, conduct, performance and productivity. The reason why previous turnaround plans failed were because they would focus on changing the design of airhostess uniforms the design of the exterior of the airplanes while the interior culture of the airline would remain as infected as ever. If changing the look was enough the airline would not have become a subsidy guzzler.
PIA has been incurring a total loss of Rs 414.3 billion including Rs 247 billion loans, Rs 144.7 billion arrears and Rs 4 billion for payment of loans on monthly instalment basis, besides payment of Rs 1.5 billion as monthly interest. This then in numbers is an organization that is not just bleeding but getting very expensive blood transfusions from bodies that are already anemic. Can this money gulper survive? Not the way it is. The way has to change and that change requires some painful surgeries and extractions of root canals.
Firstly, we have to plug the holes. Some signalling to that effect has been done. As many as 194 ghost employees have been sacked in 2 months. That is a good start. But an enquiry must be held on how employees who never worked for the airline but were on the payroll were allowed to continue. Who was responsible for this crime? Ghost employees mean fake names and CVs, fraudulent ID cards, forged signatures, and salary theft of millions. How was this allowed to go on for years, is to be made part of the accountability process.
What about Ghost CEOs? The classic case of a former German CEO Bernd Hildenbrand of PIA who was put on ECL, but still managed to leave the country is to be pursued. He was not only hired without due process but was also caught in abducting a PIA plane and selling it to a German museum at throwaway prices flouting all rules and regulations. A non-functioning plane, A310, bearing registration number AP-BAQ, was sold for 47,500 euros or Rs 5,909,912 to a museum in the city of Leipzig in Germany, after Hildenbrand's approval. He is also charged with borrowing planes from other countries at double the market price. He rented a plane from Sri Lankan airlines for $8,000 an hour for PIA, as opposed to the standard rate of $4,000 per hour.
What about people who are legally and physically there but are not there. These visible ghosts are present on check-in counters, in body search rooms, in engineering section, in procurement offices, in-flight service and in the cabin crew. These are just salary taking bodies whose minds and hearts are disengaged. Their attitude towards passengers is at best indifferent if not downright rude. Is it because they are incompetent or that they are simply sick and tired of the mass discrepancies in the hiring and promotion process?
Serious reforms need serious action on two fronts. Firstly, cleaning up the ranks from corrupt people, and in this regard removing fake degree people and ghost employees is a good start. Sadly, these are the small fish. The big fish that have spoiled the whole pond lie in the Board of Directors. In October 2018, a comprehensive audit report by the AGP has painted a gloomy picture of the financial health of the national airline, highlighting that members of the PIA Board of Directors were nominated by the PML-N government, but none of them had relevant experience in the aviation industry. This means not only replacing them but recovering taxpayer money lost due to CEOs, advisors, directors and random placement of contracts.
Secondly, bringing in professional specialists with functional specialties is needed. The present head of the airline is from the Air Force and traditionally PIA has really excelled under the leadership of two air force professionals like Nur Khan and Asghar Khan. We need to ensure that sufficient expertise is taken from private sector in the areas of marketing, HR, etc to diversify the portfolio. In a nutshell, PIA management has to get out of the mindset of an airline business and get into the mindset of hospitality business-where each single interaction with the customer becomes a leisure and pleasure.
(The writer can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com)