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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 2360.PDF
632 FLIGHT, 21 October A symbol of national pride and o,-- line adulthood—PIA's Boeing 7Qy taking off from Karachi PIA Profile An Assessment of Pakistan's Airline: Part 1—On the Route to Europe BY AL AST AIR PUGH THEY say that when the first Boeing 707 on trip lease fromPanAm to Pakistan International Airlines reached Karachi,a crowd of several thousand turned up to cheer it in. That was at two o'clock in the morning, in March, eight months beforea 707 appeared in PIA's colours of turquoise with white stars. Perhaps the Karachians were then better aware than the airlinethat this was to be a turning point in PIA's international fortunes. The first stage of the Boeing operation is an airline success story,and the aircraft-lease and three-times-a-week service that began on October 4 could consolidate the impetus that a big jet hasgiven to a not-so-large airline. When the Boeing was first introduced, the Karachi - LondonConstellation service had an unhappy name for lax timekeeping and frequent technical delays. Every airline is fair bait in thecruel "initials" game but "Perhaps I'll Arrive" and "Please Inform Allah" were gibes that with some justification were taken to heartby the airline's new management under Air Cdre Nur Khan. So introduction of a 120 seats-a-week-each-way Boeing servicewas not only a manifestation of Pakistan's aspirations for its inter- national flag carrier, but an act of faith by a management thathad for the first time just turned the corner into profitability. Seven months of trip-lease operation brought a profit of14 lakhs of rupees (about £110,000), about twice that budgeted. When the service started, PIA estimated that their costs would be11,000 Rs (£850) an hour and that they would break even if they could carry 47 passengers plus normal freight and mail.Although this was an underestimate—additional training hours raised hourly costs to just over £920 an hour—good load factorshave more than compensated for the additional charges. Two reasons for this are PIA's remarkable improvement in regularityand punctuality, and their good cabin service. Ex-Karachi, only on three occasions this summer has the Boeing been late departingor arriving in London. And although relatively new to airline catering, PIA's cabin crews blend with capable PanAm traininga natural Pakistani courtesy. In an era when synthetic goodwill appears to be replacing a real willingness to please, such genuinelygracious service is refreshing. The trip-hire and aircraft-hire arrangement with PanAm isentirely a business agreement. No pooling is involved and the only string to the deal was endorsement by PIA of PanAm'srequest to the Pakistan Government for traffic -rights for its round- the-world service. From March until October 4, PIA leased PanAm 707sex-London for one return service a week. The aircraft were, of course, in PanAm colours. While Pakistani crews were training,the aircraft—707-321s and 331s taken over by PanAm from TWA, some with modified fins and some without—were flown by PanAmpilots and engineers. Sari-uniformed stewardesses and Pakistani stewards were employed from the outset, although a PIA stickeron the fin was the only outward sign that this was not a PanAm service. It was added at the behest of the MoA, who asked THAT famous old Karachi landmark, the R101 airship hangar, isbeing pulled down. Meanwhile, the national airline, FIA, is operating in its own colours a Boeing 707 on the service to London. If theformer event is of symbolic interest, the latter has a more tangible significance. Here is a first-hand report on the Boeing operation froma member of "Flight's" staff recently in Pakistan. for visual evidence that this was a PIA operation and not a PanAm"beyond" service out of London over PIA's routes. On October 4 a new arrangement came into effect wherebyPIA leased from PanAm one specific 707-320, now for the first time in PIA colours. This Boeing 707 operates three London -Karachi return services a week, tripling PIA's jet capacity, and doubling the number of available seats. The replaced Super Con-stellations now swell the capacity on the East-West Pakistan domestic link. Under the aircraft lease the Boeing is again takenon an hourly basis, maintenance being conducted by PanAm at New York, at London, at the route stations or by PanAm's main-tenance organization at Karachi. The interchange becomes com- plete when PanAm crews return the PIA aircraft to New Yorkfor overhaul on one of their normal services, and an aircraft in PanAm markings is again temporarily leased to PIA. All maintenance costs and depreciation charges are met byPanAm and the hourly charge is calculated to provide a seven per cent return on this investment. Other operational costs—fuel,crew salaries and handling charges—are met by PIA. The whole arrangement was the outcome of one of those informal meetingswhich justify the presence of senior airline management at IATA a.g.m.s—in this case at Tokyo in 1959. Detailed, "most equit-able," negotiations at Karachi followed, but it is a reflection upon the very wide powers vested in Air Cdre Nur Khan, the airline'smanaging director, that operation followed only six months after the idea was broached. Overhaul of PIA's management structurewhen the air commodore took over early in 1959 provided him with an almost fiee hand to conduct negotiations personally,reference to the five board members who are government officials being made only on a month-to-month reporting basis. In Pakistanthe airline hierarchy descends directly from the president, Ayub Khan, via the Ministry of Defence, the Air Force and the direc-torate of civil aviation. PIA's ex-PAF managing director enjoys direct backing from the president. Where previously policy deci-sions involved a lengthy chain of government departments, they are now taken and implemented by one man. Two manifestationsof this are in preparation of the report and accounts, which in the past lagged by over two years, and in the placing of the orderfor the Fokker Friendships which are to operate in East Pakistan from early next year. Negotiations were concluded in one month. Protagonists of Commonwealth solidarity may ask why PIAshould turn for airline assistance to the US instead of to the UK, particularly in view of BOAC's rapport with Air-India and Qantas. (Concluded on page 655)
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