PIA acquires two aircraft on lease, management denies

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has acquired two Airbus A320-214 aircraft on wet lease from Freebird Airlines, Turkey, Pakistan Today has learnt. While the national flag carrier has asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to issue airworthiness certificates to the leased aircrafts, the airline’s management is trying to conceal the agreement by denying official facts.
Official documents made available to Pakistan Today reveal that PIA Corporate Planning Director Irshad Ghani recently wrote a letter (Ref: DCP/NB/ACMI/2011/257) to the CAA Flight Standards director at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, and asked the CAA to nominate officials to inspect the leased aircraft in Turkey.
The official letter titled “CAA Pak inspection for two wet lease aircraft” states: “PIA is currently facing a severe shortage of capacity due to the unscheduled grounding of its A310 and B737 aircraft. Capacity constraints are causing cancellations and delays leading to inconvenience to our passengers and revenue loss to the airline.”
It further reads: “Keeping in view the fleet constraints, PIA has decided to induct two narrow body aircraft for a period of ninety (90) days. As per the requirements of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) stated in ANO 91:0016, requisite information contained in CD is attached herewith. We shall appreciate if PCAA nominates its inspectors at its earliest for the inspection of these aircraft in Turkey.”
Another official document shows that the leased aircraft having registration numbers TC-FBH: 4207 and TC-FBV: 4658 have completed almost 60,000 flight hours, and were presently operating from Istanbul, Turkey. It indicates that the PIA will obtain these aircraft on lease and they will be based in Karachi after acquisition.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, PIA Spokesman Syed Sultan Hasan tried to conceal the agreement by categorically refusing the lease of any aircraft. In the past, the PIA management has also rejected reports of a wet lease agreement during Haj operations when it acquired two Boeing-747s from a Greek operator, but later accepted the agreement. The national flag carrier is not being able to keep up with the flight schedule. PIA sources alleged that the airline management had deliberately created a shortage of aircraft to justify the acquisition of the aircraft on wet lease.
On the other hand, members of the Joint Action Committee of PIA Employees (JACPIAE) have refused to offer services on the leased aircraft, and demanded the management to bring its own fleet into operation. A JACPIAE representative seeking anonymity believed that the incumbent management was constantly damaging the airline both administratively and financially, as it had again decided to acquire two Airbus A320s on lease, along with operating cockpit and cabin crew. He said the previous experience of acquiring two Boeing aircraft from the Hellenic Airways for Haj operations had proved that it was a huge waste of money. “This experience should be enough for any sane management if it had no intention of receiving kickbacks in the deal,” he said.
He said the PIA had to suffer a loss of Rs 410 million, as it had to cancel around 1,200 flights during August and November. He said the airline’s management had been causing flight delays and cancellations to pave the way for leasing two Airbus A320 on wet lease. In a planned move it had kept grounded 6-15 aircraft on an average since August. He said that 13 aircraft were still grounded at the PIA Engineering Department because of the unavailability of engines, equipment and spare parts required for these aircrafts to become airworthy as per international flight standards.
In addition, sources revealed that the PIA had acquired three engines on a lease of $300 per hour, while its own engines had been overhauled and ready for installation at Singapore and Amman. The management has been deliberately delaying their delivery to justify leasing more and more items for personal gains, they added.