Comment by Riaz Haq on December 21, 2017 at 9:24pm

Aviation Industry in Pakistan shows great potential for growth
Updated about Dec 17, 2017

http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/index.php?page=newsdetail&news_id=...

The Aviation Industry in Pakistan has shown great potential for growth and aviation traffic has been increased over 10 percent in last few years inside the country but Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been facing financial losses due to bad mismanagement and lack of proper interest by the government.

According to aviation sources, even International Air Transport Association (IATA) which represents major industry airlines across the globe has also recognized the progress in this field and observed that Pakistan is amongst high growth aviation markets.

In the recent years, many airlines have increased in the frequency of operations of their airlines in Pakistan. The airlines from Bahrain, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, UAE and some other countries are operating to Pakistan and getting enough business.

This increasing trend of foreign airlines has been adding economic growth in Pakistan and also creating job opportunities in the country. The government while considering the growth potential in the aviation industry has taken a number of steps to cater more business from international airlines.

Besides takings measures for creating balance in Pakistani and foreign airlines, the government has liberalized the policy of aviation through initiating confidence building measures for foreign carriers with appropriate expansion and up-gradation of the aviation infrastructure.

A spokesman for aviation department said the government has taken measures to improve the security system for domestic and international airports, radar systems have been improved and measures are under way for further improvement of radar and guidance system for all flights especially in foggy conditions at the airports.

For this purpose instant landing system at Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore has been upgraded to ensure continuity of flight operatio even in case of bad weather. New International Airport of Islamabad, equipped with most modern and latest facilities, will be operational at the start of next year.

A number of development projects are underway at Peshawar, Gwadar and Quetta for the improvement of the airports in these areas.

On the other and PIA, the national carrier, is facing huge financial losses due to bad management and bureaucratic attitude of the staff and lack of interest being taken by the government.

The business and revenue of the PIA is decreasing but the airline owned by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is making profit. Many routes of PIA are being closed but private airlines are opening new routes and making profit.

The financial loss of PIA in early 2017 was Rs. 45 billion which was 30 percent more as compared to last year losses. Although the PIA has 36 aircrafts and it has been acquiring more aircrafts on dry lease. As the PIA is national carrier, therefore, the government is taking care of its losses and injecting financial assistance from time to time to continue the operation of this airline.

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 30, 2017 at 11:05am

 

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > PAKISTAN
Pakistan identified as top travel destination

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1596763/9-pakistan-identified-top-trav...

The British Backpacker Society has identified Pakistan as it’s top travel desitination due to it being “one of the friendliest countries on earth, with mountain scenery that is beyond anyone’s wildest imagination”.

“Pakistan is the clear winner of the British Backpacker Society’s top 20 adventure travel destinations 2018 and we encourage keen travellers to book a trip now” the backpackers, who have explored over 101 countries, shared on social media. Other top destinations included Russia, India, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and China.

Gulf News has carried the comments of two members of the BBS on Pakistan. Samuel Joynson and Adam Sloper said that Pakistan had a lot to offer travellers.

“Pakistan is one of the friendliest countries on earth. So, prepare to be invited into people’s homes, take more selfies than you can count, and have every preconception that you ever held about this area of the world changed forever,” Samuel said.

The pair visited Pakistan in 2016, and traveled from Lahore to Gilgit-Baltistan via the Kaghan valley. They ended their trip in the Hunza Valley and climbed the Hon Pass near Karimabad.

“We chose to climb the Hon Pass as Eric Shipton, one of Britain’s most famous mountaineers, described the view from the pass as ‘the ultimate manifestation of mountain grandeur’, and we wanted to follow in his footsteps and experience this spectacle,” Samuel recalled. “The view from the Hon Pass was indeed the greatest natural sight that either of us has ever seen, and we would recommend it to anyone with a keen interest in mountaineering.”

Samuel also shared a travel tip: “Head north to the astonishing peaks of the Karakoram along the unforgettable Karakoram Highway. It is beautiful, exciting and culturally interesting, and travellers are rewarded at the journey’s end-point with perhaps the most beautiful natural sight on earth, the Hunza Valley.”

British Backpacker Society is known for inspiring thousands of it’s online followers to visit less famous destinations in developing countries. Adam had a word of advice for international travelers concerned about their safety when visiting Pakistan:

“Our advice would be to put preconceptions on the security situation in Pakistan to one side, and conduct some independent research. You should certainly review travel advisories from respective governments, but also speak to local Pakistanis about the situation. We believe that travel is at its best when it changes a visitor’s preconceptions, and few experiences achieve this more than travelling in Pakistan” he implored.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 14, 2018 at 5:01pm

#Pakistan aims to sell national #airline #PIA before election.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-airlines-pakistan-intl/...

Pakistan International Airlines (PIAa.KA)(PIA), hemorrhaging money and losing market share to Gulf-based rivals such as Etihad and Emirates, has been hit by management turmoil in recent years and a 2016 plane crash that led to 47 deaths.

The privatization of loss-making entities that were draining the exchequer was a key priority for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party when it swept to power in 2013.

PIA was among 68 state-owned companies earmaked for privatization in return for a $6.7 billion International Monetary Fund package that helped Pakistan to stave off a default in 2013.

Despite some initial success, the process stalled in 2016 after staff protests caused havoc with PIA operations and the government passed a law that effectively made it impossible to privatize the airline.

But Aziz, chairman of the Privatisation Commission, told Reuters that new plans have been drawn up to sell off PIA and he would take the proposals to the cabinet committee on privatization, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

“Next step would be going to the cabinet committee ... and that’s imminent, maybe even next week,” Aziz said in his Islamabad office this week.

The new plans focus on splitting up the carrier, with the core airline business being separated from vast peripheral operations such as catering, hotels and maintenance, Aziz said. The core airline would then be sold.

HEAVY LOSSES
But to complete the transaction, Aziz said, the government would have to pass laws in parliament to reverse the 2016 legislation that converted PIA into a limited company and effectively barred the government from giving up management control.

The impetus to sell PIA has grown as the airline has piled up huge losses estimated by its former CEO in March at about $30 million a month. Total debt stood at 186 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) at the end of 2016.

When asked how soon could a buyer could acquire PIA, Aziz said: “Tomorrow morning. If you have the money, come and buy it.”

Both Emirates and Etihad had shown interest in buying PIA before the government backed down from privatization in 2016, the English-language Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing an unnamed official.

Analysts have been skeptical about the government’s ability, or willingness, to take on powerful unions and embark on a privatization process so close to general elections likely in July or August.

Aziz said that, owing to time restraints ahead of the elections, the privatization commission will focus on one state company per sector, including a bank and an energy company.

He added that there has been “huge interest” in buying Pakistan Steel Mills, once the pride of Pakistan’s industrial output but now shut and bleeding cash.

“We will get runs on the board, but the real challenge is to bring to fruition the two big animals: one is PIA and the other one is Steel Mills,” Aziz said.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 28, 2018 at 10:32pm

#Pakistan to have 5 new domestic/international #airlines soon to meet nation's #airtravel boom: Askari Air, Air Siyal, Go Green, Liberty Air and Afeef Zara Airways.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1620663/2-open-skies-policy-five-new-a...

“Air traffic of the country has swelled 40% over the past five years to 20 million passengers,” Standard Chartered Pakistan Chief Executive Officer Shahzad Dada said at the recent launch of the Emirates Standard Chartered Credit Card.

The current rate of growth in Pakistan’s aviation industry is expected to be around 9% per annum which could continue till 2020, according to a forecast of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – a trade body of world’s airlines.

“These numbers tell us the open skies policy has proved favourable for the country and its people,” remarked Muhammad Afsar Malik, former additional director of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who was believed to have played a key role in framing the National Aviation Policy 2015.

Most of the upcoming carriers will target low-profit, far-off destinations like Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Dalbandin, Zhob, Rawalakot, Skardu, Chitral, Gilgit, Bannu, Parachinar and Muzaffarabad.

Of these, Gwadar, Gilgit-Baltistan and Turbat could generate immediate profits because of their tourism potential and work on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

For these remote regions, the new carriers will bring airplanes suitable for small airports.

National flag carrier PIA has thus far taken advantage of these routes as it is the only player catering to air travel needs of these areas. PIA, which once helped Emirates airline of the UAE by giving two aircraft with crew, is now beset with financial trouble with losses going beyond Rs300 billion.

According to Malik, Pakistan’s domestic air traffic has grown 10%, which is six percentage points higher than the 4% expansion in international air traffic.

Although Pakistan’s market size is increasing, the share of domestic airlines is contracting. They carried 42% of the passengers in financial year 2016-17 as opposed to the 58% flown by international airlines.

“Airlines are in the race to attract customers through fare reduction; had the market not been free, the air ticket you got for Rs10,000 would have cost around Rs30,000,” said Malik. “Competition is good for public service.”

However, PIA does not seem to be buying the idea.

“Private airlines, especially foreign carriers, have mainly resorted to price cuts, instead of going more towards customer satisfaction in terms of comfort and improved services,” commented PIA spokesperson in an email response to a query.

Separately, a Shaheen Air spokesman said in an email “about every player in the aviation chain including airports, airplane manufacturers, jet engine makers, travel agents and service companies turn in healthy profits. Yet, it is one of the enduring ironies that companies that actually move passengers from one place to another, which are a crucial link in the chain, struggle to achieve break even.”

He suggested that the government should revisit its open skies policy as foreign carriers could enter Pakistan’s market without any restriction. “Authorities should devise a new concept called a fair skies policy whereby local carriers along with foreign ones have a fair share in the market,” he said.

The industry did not oppose market liberalisation, but it should be designed in such a way that industry players were not hurt as they were already operating at a low profit margin of less than 3%, he said. “The industry, including PIA, is producing a combined net loss annually.”

UAE’s Emirates and Etihad Airways as well as Qatar Airways among other Gulf carriers are giving a tough time to Pakistan’s domestic airlines, which believe it is hard to compete with these foreign carriers since they are state-funded or operated.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 29, 2018 at 7:30am

5 airlines to venture into Pakistan
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-29 20:13:38|Editor: Lifang

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/29/c_136934060.htm

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Five national and international airlines have applied for regular public transport airline license of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to venture into the country's aviation industry, local reports said Monday.

The airlines are expected to get permission to carry out the flight operation in the country's skies during the next one year, which is likely to bring down passenger fares, local newspaper Express Tribune said.

Airlines including Askari Air, Air Siyal, Go Green, Liberty Air and Afeef Zara Airways have applied for the license to be a part of the aviation industry which is expected to be around 9 percent per annum and likely to keep the same pace till 2020, according to a forecast of the International Air Transport Association, a trade body of world's airlines.

Pakistan's air traffic has soared up to 40 percent over the past five years to 20 million passengers, and is continuously witnessing an upward trend due to improvement of law and order situation in the country, which is bringing in more tourists in the country.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has also resulted in the increase of air traffic in the country.

Most of the upcoming carriers will target low-profit, far-off destinations including Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Dalbandin, Zhob, in Balochistan province where CPEC projects are in full swing, and the tourist destinations of Rawalakot, Skardu, Chitral, Gilgit, Bannu and Parachinar.

The destinations could generate immediate profits because of their tourism potential and work on CPEC projects.

For these remote regions, the new carriers will bring airplanes suitable for small airports.

The entry of new airlines in the country's airspace is expected to further increase challenges of the country's national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines, which was the sole operator in most of these routes in the past.

Comment by Riaz Haq on March 31, 2018 at 11:01am

Pakistan’s Biggest New Islamabad Airport To Inaugurate On April 20 Airport An Aviation Hub, Contains Latest Facilities And Technology

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New Islamabad airport is the first greenfield airport in Pakistan as well as the first to be capable of handling the Airbus A380 . Built on an area of 3,571.5 acres (14.45 sq km / 5.58 sq mi), the airport has two runways. It will be capable of serving 15 million passengers every year (vs Karachi's 12 million capacity) in its first phase. Further planned expansions will allow it to serve up to 25 million passengers every year. The terminal includes 15 gates with ten remote gates, a four-star hotel, duty-free shops, food court and 42 immigration counters.[8] Additionally, Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan is acquiring 2,833 acres (11.46 sq km / 4.42 sq mi) of land to build a third runway at the airport
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https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/pakistans-biggest-new-islamab...

Pakistan’s biggest New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA), built on the designs of Mughal and Spanish architecture and equipped with latest technology, is set to be inaugurated on April 20

ISLAMABAD (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Mar, 2018 )Pakistan’s biggest New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA), built on the designs of Mughal and Spanish architecture and equipped with latest technology, is set to be inaugurated on April 20.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has directed the departments currently operating at Benazir Bhutto International Airport to shift their offices to the new airport by March 31. Being the biggest airport of Pakistan containing latest facilities and technology, the NIIA can provide travel facilities to 28 airplanes at the same time.

The airport is designed as an aviation hub of the region while a five star hotel, a three star hotel and a sports complex will also be built inside the airport.

To facilitate and entertain the passengers, the airport also comprises three shopping malls, a golf course, cinema house, hospital, convention centre and duty-free shops and restaurants.

According to CAA Planning Director Nadir Shafi Dar, a self-check counter, long-time parking, eight fire crash tenders, latest air field, an MRO system to provide technical assistance to the airplanes and a separate cargo terminal of international standards have been built in the new Islamabad airport.

A cargo village has also been built on the airport while ground handling agencies have also started operating, the director added. The runway of the NIIA is more than 3.5 kilometres long making it the longest runway of Pakistan.

Any aeroplane of the world, including the A-380, can land at this airport. At least 4,000 personnel of the Airport Security Force along with contingents of Rangers will be deployed to provide security to the airport. Moreover, latest laser security system has also been installed for the purpose.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 3, 2018 at 6:01pm

 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects 7.8 billion passengers to travel in 2036, a near doubling of the 4 billion air travelers expected to fly this year. The prediction is based on a 3.6% average Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) noted in the release of the latest update to the association’s 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast. 

 

http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2017-10-24-01.aspx 

 

Pakistan's total aviation market grew 5.11% from 2015-16 to 2016-17, according to CAA data. 

Pakistan's domestic market increased 3.2% from 2015-16 to 2016-17. 

Pakistan's international market grew 6.1% from 2015-16 to 2016-17. 

A total of 21.7 million passengers (7.2 million domestic, 14.6 million international) flew commercial airlines in Pakistan in 2016-17, up from 20.7 million (6.95 million domestic, 13.76 million international) in 2015-16, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

https://www.caapakistan.com.pk/upload/AT/stats/2016%20-%202017-APT.pdf

https://www.caapakistan.com.pk/upload/AT/stats/2015%20-%202016-APT.pdf 

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 4, 2018 at 7:05am

Opinion Pakistan
Air travel in Pakistan is a journey to the 1950s
Flying in the country is a pleasure compared with India, but there are downsides
KIRAN STACEY 

https://www.ft.com/content/6fc0dc08-3283-11e8-b5bf-23cb17fd1498


Flying in Pakistan is unlike anywhere else I have been — and the polar opposite to flying in India, where I live. Departing from any of the three major Pakistani cities is the closest a modern traveller is likely to get to experiencing what flying was like in the 1950s.

Checking in is effortless and there are no queues at security. At Islamabad airport, you do not even have to go to your gate: you can sit in the café until your flight is called and then leave via a downstairs door that takes you straight on to the tarmac and a waiting minibus.

Just hours earlier, I had suffered the regular indignity of catching a flight from Delhi airport. It took 20 minutes of disorganised queueing to check in, and another 30 to get through security. Getting on the aeroplane, as usual, reminded me of warfare at the Sino-Indian border, where troops are unarmed and so fight by jostling each other using only their torsos.



But while flying in Pakistan is a joy for those used to Indian airports, it is not necessarily a good sign for the country’s development in comparison with its larger neighbour.

The reason the experience is so civilised becomes clear to me when on board the small propeller aeroplane, where my colleague realises he knows the person next to him — a prominent environmental activist and the wife of a senior diplomat. Unlike in India, catching a flight in Pakistan remains the preserve of a small and wealthy elite. 

In 2016-17, 7.2m tickets were sold for domestic flights in Pakistan — equivalent to about 3 per cent of the population. In India, that figure was 108m, equivalent to 8 per cent of the population. According to Air Asia India, the low-cost carrier which is part of the group owned by the Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, 26 per cent of their customers are first-time flyers.

Indians have better access to air travel in part because they are richer, but also because, for them, air travel is much cheaper. A highly competitive domestic aviation market means that a passenger looking to fly from Delhi to Mumbai on July 1 this year, for example, can pay as little as $35. In Pakistan, someone wanting to do the roughly equivalent trip from Islamabad to Karachi will probably have to fly with the government-controlled Pakistan International Airlines and pay at least $100 to do so.

While both countries allowed private airlines to set up from the early 1990s, companies have had a more difficult time in Pakistan.

“Since 2003, Indian low-cost carriers have genuinely democratised airline travel,” says Kapil Kaul, chief executive of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, an industry consultancy. 

“With close to 70 per cent market share, these companies have structurally changed aviation in India. Pakistan, on the other hand, is yet to realise the massive social and economic potential of bringing air travel to the masses.”


The rapid expansion in the number of Indians able to fly has caused difficulties for both the companies and the travellers themselves. Aviation executives say first-time flyers tend to treat air travel as they do bus travel, where timings are uncertain and passengers who do not board quickly can be left behind. Air Asia India is even making a video to try to educate new customers on the basics of air travel, such as how to clear security and when to turn up at the terminal.

As I stand to gather my belongings from the overhead bin and wait in an orderly queue to disembark at Islamabad, I am grateful not to have a fellow passenger pushing past me to get to the door more quickly.

But I also know that while this is good news for me and the 60 or so other people who have been able to afford this flight, it means that millions of others have been denied the opportunity.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 4, 2018 at 7:25am

Domestic air passenger traffic surges 18% in January, says IATA data
India's domestic passenger traffic growth was followed by that of Russian Federation at 7.9% and China at 6.6%

http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/domestic-a...

Despite a slower international passenger demand growth, India's domestic passenger traffic grew by almost 18 per cent in January, a global airline association said on Thursday.

Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed that India's domestic demand - revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) - was highest amongst major aviation markets like Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia and the US.


According to the data, India's domestic RPK - which measures actual passenger traffic, rose by 17.9 per cent in January compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

"All markets showed growth, led by India, which experienced its 41st consecutive month of double-digit traffic increases," IATA said in its global passenger traffic results.

India's domestic passenger traffic growth was followed by that of Russian Federation at 7.9 per cent and China at 6.6 per cent.

In terms of capacity, India's domestic available seat kilometres (ASK) - which measures available passenger capacity, climbed higher by 16.7 per cent in January, followed by China's 8.9 per cent growth.

The data disclosed that the international passenger demand for January rose by 4.6 per cent compared with the year-ago period.

"This was the slowest year-over-year increase in nearly four years, but results were affected by temporary factors including the later timing of the Lunar New Year in 2018 as well as less favourable comparisons with the strong upward trend in traffic seen in late 2016-early 2017," IATA said.

The global January ASK rose 5.3 per cent and load factor slipped half a percentage point to 79.6 per cent.

"Despite the slower start, economic momentum is supporting rising passenger demand in 2018. That said, concerns over a possible trade war involving the US could have a serious dampening effect on global market confidence, spilling over into demand for air travel," said Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO, IATA.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 4, 2018 at 5:40pm

Pakistan PM opens long-delayed new airport in capital Islamabad

https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/05/04/pakistan-pm-opens-long-delaye...

Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday inaugurated the long-delayed new airport in the capital, Islamabad, replacing the cramped Benazir Bhutto airport often criticized by travellers.

A Pakistan International Airlines pilot waved a green and white Pakistani flag out of his cockpit window after landing the carrier’s first commercial flight at the New International Islamabad Airport.

With a sleek glass-front entrance, spacious check-in areas and jetway bridges for boarding, the Y-shaped airport promises an end to the congestion that has frustrated air travel in the past.

“This airport rightly reflects what has happened in Pakistan in the last five years,” said Abbasi.

Abbasi’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party had been eager to open the new airport before national polls, likely in July, as it touts big-ticket infrastructure as sign of economic progress in the South Asian nation of 208 million people.

Abbasi’s government is spending billions of dollars on upgrading Pakistan’s transport infrastructure and ending energy blackouts, with freshly paved motorways as well as dams and power plants popping up across the country.

Abbasi, who has a pilot’s license and is a founder of a Pakistani budget airline, said new airports in the cities of Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta and Peshawar were in the final stages.

The new Islamabad airport, which has the capacity to handle 15 million passengers annually and space for further expansion, was first suggested in the 1980s and has been more than a decade in the making.

The delays have become a running joke with many Pakistanis, who mock the frequent announcements that the new airport would open soon and subsequent clarifications of further delays. The airport’s most recent delay was last month.

“Nothing is impossible but this project definitely seemed impossible,” quipped Abbasi, in reference to his government inheriting the project in 2013.

The new airport is about 15 km (nine miles) from the capital. Benazir Bhutto airport was in the nearby city of Rawalpindi and attached to a military base.

International travellers often complained about chaotic scenes at the airport and in 2014 it was voted the worst in the world by the “Guide to Sleeping in Airports” website, prompting widespread criticism of the airport in Pakistani media.

The new airport started full operation on Thursday.

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