KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines has decreased its losses to Rs 10.955 billion in the nine months ending September, 2010 compared to Rs 11.403 billion in the preceding year. According to a press statement, the total revenue PIA has earned in the nine months period ending September, 2010 was Rs. 74.360 billion, which was 16.3 percent higher than in the same period of 2009.
This was announced in the PIA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting held in Multan chaired by Federal Minister for Defence and Chairman PIA, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar. The board appreciated the sustained efforts undertaken to explore new routes for the national carrier to boost its revenue, as Barcelona was added as new destination during the same period and increased frequencies on a number of different routes.
The engineering business of the airline contributed Rs 0.78 billion to the revenues of the airlines, showing a healthy increase of 25 percent over the corresponding period last year. It was noted that oil prices remained erratic during the period under review dipping to mid-seventies, but oil prices have again started to rise with a barrel of crude touching US$ 80.01 in October 2010.
The board emphasized that cost containment needs to be pursued on a priority basis for a turnaround and has embarked upon a comprehensive business plan, giving it strategic direction over the next five years. A major component of this plan is PIA’s commitment towards reduction in costs incurred under various heads such as human resources, fleet maintenance and revenue enhancement and yield improvement through route rationalization.
The board asserted that what is now required is for the principal stakeholders to come forward and make their contribution in terms of easing the inherited debt burden on the corporation, provide a level playing field to the national flag carrier against regional and other international carriers.
The BOD were informed that the corporation managed to contain staff costs to levels lower than many competitors, whilst it managed to recruit and retain some of the best qualified individuals as a critical part of its long term objective of being a world class airline meeting customer expectations through excellent services, on-time performance, innovative products and absolute safety.