On January 2, 1962, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 720-B landed in Karachi, setting a new flight record between London and Karachi. The PIA plane did not stop flying. It was travelling from the Boeing factory in Seattle to Karachi on a home delivery flight, and it had already surpassed the flying record between Seattle and London.
However, when PIA Chief Pilot Captain Abdullah Baig, who was in command of the aircraft, walked off the plane alongside PIA Managing Director Air Commodore Nur Khan, he was greeted warmly.
Captain Baig told the media that the record was set as a result of the efforts of all members of the crew on board the plane working together. He described it as “the finest team” he had ever flown on any trip.
Further, the $6 million turbofan jet aircraft set a new official distance record between London and Karachi, covering the distance in six hours 45 minutes and 33 seconds at an average speed of 583.3 statute miles per hour.
Pakistani and foreign journalists were among those on board the jet. The fight was hailed as “jolly good business” by a Royal Aero Club observer aboard the plane. The plane beat a British Canberra bomber’s record of eight hours, 52 minutes, and 28.5 seconds set in 1953 by two hours and nine minutes.
After a more than 36-hour delay owing to snow and adverse weather, the PIA plane took off from London. Despite the poor condition of the runway, the take-off from London went well.
