More flights from Oman to Pakistan
Muscat: Flights between Muscat and Pakistan will have increased frequency from March 23. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the national carrier of Pakistan, will be enhancing its frequency from the current 13 flights, which will gradually increase to 17 by the end of this year.
Talking to the Times of Oman, Shahzad M. Paracha, country manager, PIA Muscat, said that they will be adding more flights to Islamabad, Gwadar and Turbat.
"Currently, we operate 13 flights a week from Muscat to various places in Pakistan but from March 23, we will operate 15 flights a week and by the end of this year it will be 17 a week," he said. Till July 2014, PIA used to have only nine flights a week.
PIA operates flights to Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot and Islamabad in addition to Peshawar, Gwadar and Turbat from Muscat International Airport.
"We will be adding flights to Islamabad, Gwadar and Turbat sector this year," announced Paracha.
The flights were increased after the demand to these sectors went up rapidly over the years. "The increase in frequency will give more choice to the Pakistani expatriates living in Oman," he said.
According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of Pakistani nationals in the private sector in Oman was 215,909 in November 2014 comprising 214,832 men and 1,077 women.
Besides increasing the number of flights, the country manager said that they want to operate a bigger ATR aircraft to Gwadar and Turbat so that they can carry more passengers.
"Currently we operate an ATR-42 where there are 48 seats but we sell only 38 seats to the passengers as baggage is being kept in the remaining 10 seats," said Paracha.
But PIA wants to replace it with ATR-72s where 66 passengers can be accommodated. "This way, we will double the capacity for Gwadar and Turbat," he said.
"We do not make money in this route but we operate it as there are thousands of Pakistani nationals who live in these places and work in Muscat. Besides that, no other airlines operate in this route from Muscat," he said, adding that bigger aircraft cannot be operated on this route as the landing facilities are not good at Gwadar and Turbat.
He also said that PIA's sales figures have increased drastically in the recent months. "We are thankful to all our travel agents that our sales figures have increased by 52 per cent in 2014 compared to 2013," he said.
Besides sales, the punctuality has also improved over the last few months. "Until July 2014, 35 per cent of our flights were either delayed or cancelled. However, with more aircraft and staff efficiency, we have managed to bring it down to just 5 per cent in 2015," said the country manager.
Times of Oman | News :: More flights from Oman to Pakistan
