‘With the same amount, PIA could have changed a large proportion of the obsolete and non-operational IFES’
LAHORE: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be spending Rs915 million in salary increases granted to pilots, hinted a notification issued by the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association (PALPA).
“The aviation secretary was convinced that the increment of Rs915 million (per annum) was based upon restructuring 75 hours guaranteed with 10 days off in a month and not linked to any fixed percentage, therefore he assured PALPA Executive Committee that he would do the needful for the implementation of the same through the board of directors and Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL),” read the notification.
According to industry experts, PIA used to pay the pilots 50 guaranteed flying hours based on their average utilisation, which used to be around 43 to 45 hours per month. Now, they added, the PIA flight schedules and the effective aircraft fleet has shrunk while the number of pilots remains the same, bringing their average utilisation to 28 to 30 hours.
The increase to 75 guaranteed hours will cost the national carrier an additional Rs915 million per year.
“The airline is making losses and the Inflight Entertainment System (IFES) of the aircraft is redundant. Airlines usually change or upgrade the IFES system after every four to five years. With Rs915 million, PIA could have changed a large proportion of the obsolete and non-operational IFES. The priority of the airlines should be to improve the customer experience,” an independent aviation expert told this scribe.
On the other hand, a document pertaining to the special audit from 2008 to 2017, revealed the exorbitant salaries paid to the PIA Investment Limited (PIAL) managing director and other employees.
“It was observed that an amount of $5.869 million was paid by the management of PIAIL on account of remuneration to employees, post-employment benefit and bonus to directors…,” the documents read.
As per the document, the key management personnel compensation was $195,378 in 2007, which increased to $546,553 by 2012. In 2017, the amount was recorded at $811,581, showing a 315 per cent increase in 10 years.
The document further revealed that Najeeb Samie, who was appointed as the PIAL managing director on April 3, 2006, retired in July 2016. However, he is still working on a two-year contract which on expiry was renewed for another two years and according to the document his appointment was done unjustifiably against government instructions.
The Government instead of REGULATING is itself running the Aviation Sector. PIA should be immediately Privatised as it is squandering the taxpayers money. We cannot hold our economy hostage to the 15,000 plus employed hooligans of PIA who get salaries for doing nothing.
Well said. Not sure who is filling pakistantoday pockets. This is not a verified news by reading the article itself.
M.r alam ,,I beg to differ with you ,,and apologize you for your poor state of knowledge regarding PIA .Pia is not in a loss ,,it has been deliberately made malfunctioned by poor management and chrownism .Until and unless ,,the top management is recruited on the basis of merit,,the dismayal state of our national airline will continue .so try to be positive and live in the light of optimism instead of becoming a slave of pessimism and darkness.
We are ashamed of having PIA as national airline of Pakistan. Delays in flights, disinterested staff, non-functional inflight entertainment systems, faulty booking software, deplorable conditions of PIA owned hotel at Karachi, all these add to extreme mismanagement.
PIA has no reason to be national carrier. The exorbitant induction of incompetant staff in huge number leads to unprofessional attitude and mishandling of passengers. The condition of the aircrafts are pathatic and are flying coffins. Has a great potential if handed over to a private hands.
I am a very proud traveller of PIA who has been associated with the airline for the last 40 + years… There is a lot to desire in my national airline if only I as a Pakistani became more honest.. long live PIA..
Pia is some kind of curcus
Being a Pakistani , PIA is my pride and it purely reflect the condition of our country. Its not fair to expect PIA services like Emirates or Singapore Airlines until our country become like that.I really love to see the Flag on the tail representing us through out the world.
As part of PIA from the past 14 years ,,I have seen and witnessed ,,how the airline has been smoldered and deliberately destroyed financially by political interventions .Political recruitments ,,negating the principal of merit is a feature of political governments of the past .PALPA is the representative body of pilots working in PIA .what really seems a tragic part of this story is that palpa has always demanded a large share from management in respect of there salaries and perks .They stay in 5 star hotels ,,The average salary of a 777 pilot is more then one million PKR .He avails 10 offs in a month .Not only this ,,adding insult to injury ,,pilots get double of there flying allowance ,,if they fly In there offs .It is to be noted that there international allowance is separate from there salaries ,,which is easily more than two thousand dollars a month ,,,But still having all these benefits,,they will keep on knocking the doors of management for salary raise .Now if we look towards other side of the story ,there are 13000 employees of the airline from pay group 1 to pay group 10 .Almost 80% out of these come in labour group .which is below group 5 ,,They are the real work force of the airline ,,from a leader to a baggage attendant ,,to traffic ticket counter personal to a cargo attendant to marketing personnel .From the past 5 years ,,these poor chaps doesnt have a single 10 percent increase in there salaries .Unions in the past have failed to deliver ,,,as they were busy in blessing there own specific persons .The prime example in this aspect is senator mushaddullah khan ,,who has unethically and immorally smoldered the resources of my organization. He through the evil of nepotism has transferred his two brothers ,matiullah khan and majidullah as station managers in london and paris stations ,,which are regarded as prime out station postings .what really saddens is that nothing has been done for the customers ,who takes pride in flying with the national flag carrier .who are optimists and positive regarding the fact there presence and confidence in the airline would one day retain and regain the post glory of the airline .Palpa is busy in attaining there outrageous rise in there salaries but is least bothered about the rights of customers ,,,who are devoid of all the basic facilities which they should get in a flight .NO BLANKETS ,,NO PILLOWS ,,NO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM ,,are the pre requisites of any international flight .But we fail to provide ,,the reason remains the same till we have these associations who are selfishly protecting there interests ,,having already getting a lions share ,,remains to be one of the hurdles in organizational development of the airline .The hope is that the present government looked out into this matter ,,upgrade the real work force the 80 percent of the employees and take care of the customer ,,who under the spirit of national patriotism supports the airline .ALLAH BLESS PIA FOREVER .AMEEN .LONG LIVE PAKISTAN AND LONG LIVE PIA .AMEEN
The solution:: Complete overhaul of management..
Replacement at all levels of technical and administratative areas by professionals.
Pia in lose so please close the airline
Pia in lose so please close the airline
looto pakistan
What the PIA pilots and the aviation division want to do with the sinking national flag carrier. ? Koee Hayat hoti hay , Koee sharam hoti hay…