Former PIA managers in corruption, embezzlement scandal

Pakistan's PIA faces asset grab in British Virgin Islands

PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad Quaid-e-Azam Int'l) could see its assets attached by the High Court of Justice in the British Virgin Islands, where it is incorporated, over a longstanding dispute between its shareholder, the Pakistan state, and gold and copper exploration giant Tethyan Copper Company (TCC).

TCC has asked the High Court to enforce a USD5.97 billion award against Pakistan by the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitral tribunal granted on July 12, 2019. The settlement award related to the Pakistan Province of Balochistan in 2011 having refused TCC a mining lease for the development of a USD3.3 billion copper-gold mine at Reko Diq in Balochistan. This resulted in TCC filing a case against Pakistan with the ICSID in 2012.

The enforcement of the award was provisionally stayed in September 2019, which was again extended on September 17, 2020, after the Pakistan government had applied for its annulment.

In a statement in December 2020, the office of the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) confirmed that...

PIA plots staff cuts while fleet set to grow

PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad Quaid-e-Azam Int'l) plans to halve its payroll through staff redundancies while at the same time significantly growing its fleet over the next few years, The Nation has reported.

The state-owned Pakistani flag carrier hopes to reduce its total headcount from 12,900 workers to 5,600-6,000 by the end of 2021. This is a significantly lower number than 7,500, the previous benchmark set.

Despite the reduction in workforce, the airline hopes to add 16 unspecified aircraft shortly, although no definite timeline was given. This would increase PIA's total fleet to 45 active aircraft. The target ratio of staff-to-aircraft is around 130 - compared to the current ratio of nearly 450 workers per one active aircraft.

PIA has already announced a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for its employees, including pilots and engineers, with applications due by December 22. Based on the uptake, a forced retirement scheme may be enforced through the end of January 2021. Shedding 3,977 staff from non-core areas should save it PKR6.1 billion rupees (USD38 million) per...

PIA to return all ATR72-500s as investigators probe deal

PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad Quaid-e-Azam Int'l) has resolved to return all ATR72-500s to their lessor earlier than stipulated due to high lease rates and a lack of prospects for the aircraft's utilisation in the current market environment, The Express Tribune has reported.

"The bleeding stopped and an expensive deal of the past has been terminated. This is yet another course correction by the current PIA administration," the carrier said in a statement.

Four of the five aircraft are owned by ABRIC Leasing and are managed by ACIA Aero, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows. They were delivered to PIA in 2015, transferred from UTair-Ukraine (QU, Kyiv Boryspil).

The first of the subfleet, AP-BKY (msn 994), was ferried from Karachi Int'l via Muscat, Riyadh, Juba, and Lubumbashi to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo over the course of December 12-13, 2020. A further three Avions de Transport Régional units are due to be returned by the end of the year, the airline...

Editorial Comment: Updates with ABRIC's own comments on the planned return of aircraft - 16.12.2020 - 14:38 UTC

PIA issues dry-lease RFP for eight narrowbodies

PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad Quaid-e-Azam Int'l) has announced a request for proposals (RFP) for the dry-lease of up to eight narrowbody aircraft with deliveries scheduled between January and December 2021.

According to tender documentation, the state-owned carrier is seeking aircraft manufactured in 2012 or later which seat over 170 passengers in a single-class configuration (with a "soft divider" separating premium and economy classes). It intends to lease the aircraft for six years or until their first 12-year maintenance check, whichever falls earlier for each aircraft.

PIA also wants to secure the right to extend the leases beyond the original contracted term.

According to listed technical evaluation criteria, the airline will assess bids based on the vintage of the aircraft (with a high scoring premium on units manufactured in 2018 or later), delivery schedule (with a preference for deliveries in the second half of 2021), sistership offered, in-flight connectivity equipment, as well as other equipment onboard including both cabin amenities and avionics.

The airline said it would prefer to lease the...