A five-year business plan for the recovery of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was presented to the government, which advised adding 20 aircraft to the fleet and restructuring the airline’s administrative and financial processes in order to turn it around by 2026.
IATA Consulting provided a summary of the business plan to Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin. Despite hundreds of billions of rupees in injections, it was determined that PIA will continue to lose money as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) administration neared the conclusion of its term.
The expert suggested that PIA’s fleet be expanded from 29 to 49 planes, as the loss-making national flag carrier continues to squander billions of rupees in government funding with little indications of improvement.
The consultant has advised four wide-body planes and sixteen narrow-body planes. The government was told that if all of the restructuring actions were implemented, the airline would break even in the fourth year, implying that it would continue to lose money.
Despite agreeing to several of the proposals, PIA management thought the plan was “aggressive and difficult to accept,” according to reports.