European union banned PIA(Pakistan Airlines)

[Neo]

EU Bans Some Pakistani Airline Planes
Monday March 5, 2007

EU Bans Pakistan International Airlines' Old Planes From Flying to Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Pakistan International Airlines will be limited to flying its Boeing 777 planes into the European Union due to safety concerns about the carrier's other, older planes, the European Commission said Monday.

The latest update of the EU's airline blacklist bars PIA from using its aging Boeing 747, Airbus 310 and other aircraft on the lucrative European routes. The B-747s and A-310s and other smaller aircraft account for the vast majority of the airline's aircraft inventory of over 40 long-range and regional aircraft.

In Islamabad, PIA spokesman Nasir Jamal said the restrictions on the Boeing 747 and Airbus 310s were only being "temporarily applied" and they would be able to fly again once they have been upgraded

"These two types of aircraft may resume their flights once necessary refurbishment and cabin up-keeping is completed in a given time frame that is as soon as possible," Jamal said.

He said EU transport experts advised the airline to use its newer planes on routes to Britain and Frankfurt.

PIA was considered one of the best airlines in the developing world in the 1960s and 1970s. Critics blame the slide in quality and maintenance standards on government interference in the airline's operations.

The EU executive cleared a Thai airline and another from Uganda to resume flights into the 27-nation European Union after they improved safety measures.

Phuket Air and DAS Air Cargo/Dairo Air Services were removed from the EU's blacklist after rectifying "serious safety deficiencies which had originally led to their banning from Europe," an EU statement said.

The EU will also consider allowing in some Russian flights from nine companies "under exceptional circumstances and on the basis of tight checks," the EU statement said.

Last month, Moscow banned the airlines from flying to the EU after consultations with EU officials. The companies are Aero Rent, Tatarstan, Atlant Soyuz, Aviakon Zitotrans, Centre Avia, Gazpromavia, Lukoil, Russian Sky (Russkoe Nebo) and Utair.

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/list--en.htm

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070305/eu_airline_blacklist.html?.v=2

 

[Neo]

PIA to buy Airbuses to 'appease' EU, Britain
Karachi News.Net
Monday 5th March, 2007

Faced with a ban from being allowed to fly to European destinations beginning Wednesday, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is likely to purchase the latest aircraft from European consortium Airbus in order to 'appease' the European Union (EU) and Britain.

In doing so, Pakistan is having to 'strike a delicate balance' in its relations with the US and the EU, sources said.

The Pakistani flag carrier is understood to have 'effectively conveyed' to both the EU and the British air-safety authorities that it was willing to replace its Boeing 737s with the latest European aircraft for EU and British destinations, The Daily Times said, quoting 'well-placed airline and government sources'.

The process of buying Airbus, the European aircraft, to replace the seven ageing American Boeing 737s could begin next July.

PIA's flying to European destinations has been restricted due to new EU air safety rules. Efforts by the Pakistan government to have it postponed have not worked. There were reports last week that President Pervez Musharraf might himself take up the matter with his European counterparts.

Unnamed sources in the government and aviation sector say the ban is to 'pressurise' PIA into buying some Airbuses, instead of the American aircraft Boeing.

Asked if PIA would replace all seven Boeing 737s, the sources said that such a move could affect the country's relations with the manufacturers of Boeings and the US government. Asked how this message was conveyed to the EU and British authorities, the sources said that this communication had taken place through 'informal' channels - indicating that lobbyists of European products in Pakistan, Brussels and London had been used as a conduit.

Asked if the EU safety committee had asked PIA to replace its old aircraft with those made in Europe, they said that such messages were never delivered formally.

'As they say actions speak louder than words, the EU in particular had been effectively sending messages since the news about a looming ban on the PIA fleet broke out last month,' they said.

PIA had decided to buy Airbuses to use as a bargaining chip to minimise the impact of pressure in the form of 'temporary restrictions' on its fleet. A lot of official procedural formalities would need to be put in place before any order to purchase Airbuses could be formally put forward, they said.

http://www.karachinews.net/story/231994

 

[Neo]

Pakistan Airline Cuts European Flights
Tuesday March 6, 2007
By Zarar Khan
Pakistan's National Airline Slashes Flights to Europe After EU Blacklists Old Planes.

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's national airline announced Tuesday that it had slashed its flights to Europe by nearly 50 percent after the European Union barred most of its planes due to safety concerns.

The EU's executive commission said Monday it would allow Pakistan International Airlines to use only its seven Boeing 777 planes on services to EU airports due to worries about the age and maintenance of its other long-haul aircraft.

PIA said the airline had cut the number of weekly flights to Europe and the United States from 42 to 24, effective immediately, as a result of the ban.

Services to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Milan and Chicago have been stopped altogether. Flights to destinations including Manchester, New York, Istanbul and Paris will continue, but with reduced frequency.

PIA chairman Tariq Kirmani criticized the EU decision as "unjust and discriminatory," insisting that the airline's entire fleet was safe.

"PIA's planes are safe and airworthy," he told reporters at PIA's headquarters in the southern city of Karachi. He said PIA had a better safety record than some other airlines still allowed to fly in Europe. He didn't name those rivals.

However, he said PIA would upgrade its fleet to address the EU's concerns and that it had already contacted Turkey's national airline about leasing two extra planes to serve the affected European routes. It hopes to restore some of the cut flights by March 15.

PIA had been using aging Boeing 747, Airbus 310 and other aircraft on the lucrative European routes. The B-747s and A-310s and other smaller aircraft account for the bulk of the airline's inventory of over 40 long-range and regional aircraft.

PIA was considered one of the best airlines in the developing world in the 1960s and 1970s. Critics blame the slide in quality and maintenance standards on government interference in the airline's operations.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070306/pakistan_eu_airline_blacklist.html?.v=1

 

[Neo]

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

PIA to resume EU flights from 28th

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will resume its routine operations to the European Union from March 28 with a nominal cut in the number of flights to the US and European countries, said PIA Chairman Tariq Kirmani on Tuesday.

“Our operations department has replaced all the Europe-bound aircraft with Boeing 777s,” said Kirmani at a press conference. “This process of replacement will take a few days to complete,” he added.

The chairman said the airline was planning to acquire a few more planes on lease, but it needed an Airbus A310 immediately. “We are already using one A310. Its lease agreement will expire by the end of the month, but we will get an extension,” Reuters quoted Kirmani as saying. He said that after another A310 had been acquired on ‘wet lease’, the airline would go for additional big planes to increase flights to European countries, the US and other long routes.

Kirmani said that of the 300 airlines in the world, PIA was among the only 63 that had been given safety certificates by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). He branded the ban on PIA an “injustice”.

“The airline has decided not to challenge the EU’s decision in EU courts, but the management has decided to hold negotiations with EU bureaucrats,” he added. “PIA has invited an EU delegation to recheck its aircraft,” he said, adding that the issue would be resolved by the end of May.

He said a PIA delegation led by him met the EU air transport authorities in Brussels on March 2, and briefed the EU on the steps being taken by the airline to improve its services.

Agencies add: Meanwhile, PIA also announced on Tuesday that it had slashed its flights to Europe by nearly 50 percent, following the EU ban. PIA said the airline had cut the number of weekly flights to Europe and the US from 42 to 24, effective immediately. An official said that flights had been cancelled till March 26, after which the airline would try to lease more planes or take other measures.

According to a Khaleej Times report, PIA will be allowed to continue its operations into Dubai. A Department of Civil Aviation official denied an earlier media report that PIA could be banned from flying into the emirate.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\07\story_7-3-2007_pg1_2

 

[niaz]

There are many reasons why I have not travelled by PIA for a long time. The foremost being that my wife and daughter were on the PIA aircraft which slipped of the runway at Dubai airport during take off a few years ago.

Patriotism aside, PIA is over staffed and poorly maintained. It is dedicated to serving their emloyees not the fare paying public. Once I had to use my influence to get a business class seat from London to Islamabad; I was told that all seat were taken; however on boarding I found half seats empty. These were used to upgrade families of the PIA staff to make their travel more comfortable. To add insult to injury I was asked to change seats because these "Free" travelling passengers wanted to sit together and I was in the way! ( Air hostess told me that these were children of a PIA Gen Manager on the way back from UK Holiday). Another time during Benazir era, PIA flight was delayed at Manchester, because a certain Javed Pasha ( one of the side kicks of Asif Zardari) wanted to finish his drinks and aircraft had to wait for him.

No wonder PIA has been a burden on the Tax payer for a long time.

PIA is no longer the airline it was during the Noor Khan days. To me they are the "Worst people to fly with". Hope this action by the EU will jolt them to do some improvement.

 

[Neo]

EU restriction: PIA complying with agreed action plan

KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Tariq Kirmani in an annual message to employees of the airline has said PIA will comply with EU requirements under a mutually agreed action plan to redress the latter’s reservations about some of its aircraft.

In the message emailed to media as well, he said PIA exchanged numerous emails and faxes along with three meetings with EU authorities from October last year to February 2007.

“Throughout this period they never even once hinted to us that our progress had not been satisfactory nor did they give us anything in writing about our discrepancies, if any,” the text quoted him as saying.

“The restrictions, therefore, came as a complete surprise to us. When I visited the EU Air Transport office on March 02, 2007 the decision to restrict PIA had already been taken,” he claimed.

He said the Revenue Management System helped the airline to critically review and rationalise the network structure. “We were able to re-evaluate our unprofitable routes and create hubs for the maximum convenience of our passengers to overcome this EU limitation.”

Starting March 25, 2007, “we will be back to normal again with only minor adjustments of frequencies into the UK, Europe and North America,” he said, adding “hidden in all this was also a silver lining, for whereas this restriction has a negative impact on PIA revenues of 1pc, the cost to PIA will go down almost 6pc.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=47667

 

[Keysersoze]

There are many reasons why I have not travelled by PIA for a long time. The foremost being that my wife and daughter were on the PIA aircraft which slipped of the runway at Dubai airport during take off a few years ago.

Patriotism aside, PIA is over staffed and poorly maintained. It is dedicated to serving their emloyees not the fare paying public. Once I had to use my influence to get a business class seat from London to Islamabad; I was told that all seat were taken; however on boarding I found half seats empty. These were used to upgrade families of the PIA staff to make their travel more comfortable. To add insult to injury I was asked to change seats because these "Free" travelling passengers wanted to sit together and I was in the way! ( Air hostess told me that these were children of a PIA Gen Manager on the way back from UK Holiday). Another time during Benazir era, PIA flight was delayed at Manchester, because a certain Javed Pasha ( one of the side kicks of Asif Zardari) wanted to finish his drinks and aircraft had to wait for him.

No wonder PIA has been a burden on the Tax payer for a long time.

PIA is no longer the airline it was during the Noor Khan days. To me they are the "Worst people to fly with". Hope this action by the EU will jolt them to do some improvement.

Yet another winning post by Niaz! None of my family will fly with PIA anymore simply because of the shoddy treatment we got from that airline. We pay extra for BA or Emirates instead.

 

[HAIDER]

Real time scenario, may be mention before
In US/Europe average plane feed 70 staff of airline.
In Pakistan average plane feed 500 staff of airline.
You can see now where we are standing.

 

[Neo]

Tuesday, 27 March 2007

Pakistan airline chairman resigns

Like its planes, the airline has had a troubled recent history
The chairman of the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resigned after a period of crisis for the organisation.
Mr Tariq Kirmani handed in his resignation to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday.

Earlier in March, much of PIA's fleet was banned from landing in the European Union because of safety concerns.

This came after the firm suffered heavy financial losses and had to ground part of its domestic fleet.

Mr Kirmani had earlier served as the head of the Pakistan State Oil company and is reported to be close to Mr Aziz.

He has been asked to continue in his post until a replacement is named.

In recent years, many of Pakistan's state owned enterprises have run into organisational problems resulting in loss of efficiency and profitability.

Most have since been privatised.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6498423.stm

 

[Neo]

A facelift for PIA

A FEW days after sending the head of PIA’s engineering department on forced leave has come the news that the airline’s chairman has resigned. This shows that the government has finally realised just how much of a mess the national airline has been in and that it needs to take remedial steps to restore its reputation and credibility. However, before making any hasty decisions, the government must take stock of the situation that has seen the EU ban a majority of PIA’s fleet as well as internal conflicts that saw a weeklong protest by engineers which resulted in the cancellations of many domestic and international flights. It must realise that in today’s competitive world, where people have more choices in airlines, it cannot afford to have a national airline that falls short on so many counts. The EU’s ban was not a bolt from the blue; several of its warnings to PIA about its aircraft not meeting international standards of safety fell on deaf ears. And when the ban did finally come into force, the management’s plea that the EU action was sudden and “discriminatory” was unconvincing. Not so unexpected, however, was the uproar created by the airline’s engineers over a week ago who were protesting against the presence of engineers and staff with no prior experience in a commercial airline. Indeed, PIA has been plagued with a plethora of non-essential staff hired over the decades by various governments. It is perhaps one of the most overstaffed organisations in the country. Its losses are phenomenal — at around one billion rupees a month, according to a Public Account Committee report last year.

The new chairman has a lot of house-cleaning to do. This includes better planning and management of the airline, shedding of the deadwood and better upkeep and maintenance of planes. But the foremost task is the removal of the problems that have led to the EU ban. All planes must meet the international standards of safety. The airline’s personnel must be downsized in a judicious manner and only those with commercial airline experience should be retained. Everything must be done to help the airline regain its once enviable reputation.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/28/ed.htm#2

 

[Neo]

Thursday, April 26, 2007
EU commercial interests behind ban on PIA flights, NA told

ISLAMABAD: The European Union (EU) has imposed a ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights due to its commercial interests, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Major (r) Tanveer Hussain Syed told the National Assembly (NA) on Wednesday.

Responding to a call attention notice, Syed said it seemed the EU had imposed the ban to press PIA to replace its outdated Boeing fleet with Airbuses being manufactured by EU countries. He said that PIA was working to remove the EU objections and had formed three technical teams for this purpose, and hoped that PIA flights to Europe would be restored soon.

To a question, he said that an inquiry had been started into the replacement of the national flag painted on the tail of PIA planes with cultural paintings.

Online adds: Syed said the EU had raised three objections to the PIA aircraft and the most critical was on cargo safety. He added that the PIA cargo service lacked a fire extinguishing service.

Syed said the EU restrictions were likely to continue until PIA bought new aircraft. “If the problem is solved with new planes, we should purchase them at the earliest,” he added.

He said that the PIA engineering department had been ignored in the past, but the management was now hiring engineers on lucrative salary packages.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\26\story_26-4-2007_pg7_28