its really heart breaking to see an airline which can make soo much money in dire straits. I guess common sense is not that common.
If you look at the expat community you see that PIA has solid customer base, folks who can only fly PIA. This includes older expat and women with children and folks with language problems. Also PIA offers convenience of direct flights.
There is no vision
1) Start with adding a 100 rupee per year NIC renewal fee. This automatically brings everyone in the tax net. Exclude children and elders if needed. Payable at all Pakistani banks locally.
2) 20 USD NICOP renewal fee per year - I am sure the expats will pay. The payment system is already in place to pay for passports, nicop abroad.
3) Start direct flights to countries with large expat populations, these include:
Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, etc.
4) Build a rail link to the Saudi peninsula, connect Karachi to Dubai via a rail/cargo link along the Mekran coast.
6) Restart the steel mill so that these new rail links can be built using domestic steel.
7) Pass a law that all affluent sectors in big cites have to move off grid. This means that installing solar panels and using electric cooktops and ovens like it is done in the west - no gas! These houses must have meters which put electricity into the grid instead of consuming during the day.
These are all low hanging fruits which can be done simply by passing legislation.
