New management has been installed at state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) amid a go-slow by pilots, who are demanding new contracts.
Flights have been cancelled daily since April when pilots, frustrated by a three-year delay in negotiations, began working to rule.
Former banker Ahmed Saeed became PIA's managing director on 15 April after Sher Afghan Malek's removal. Pakistan's military government earlier appointed Lt Gen Hamid Nawaz Khan as chairman, in place of Lt Gen Nasim Rana.
PIA Pilots Association president Capt Raza Kazmi says Saeed is demanding a two-month breathing space before starting talks. Kazmi claims PIA pilots are the lowest paid in south Asia, with junior first officers on $600 a month, compared with $2,000 at SriLankan Airlines.
PIA lost $50 million last year and has long been in the doldrums because of under-investment and a non-commercial approach.
Source: Flight International
