Due to positive management, reduction in fuel prices and better economic conditions, PIA’s loss before tax reduced by 34.4 per cent in 2014 as compared to the previous year.
In addition, the airline’s seat factor has increased to 72 per cent and the better yields resulted in an almost 8 per cent increase in passenger revenue. In addition, strict control and better economic environment helped keep costs down and expenses decreased by almost 10.6 per cent. The airline, however, reported a loss before tax of Rs 29.3 billion in 2014 in comparison to a loss of Rs 44.7 billion in 2013.
PIA Chairman Nasser Jaffer stated this at the 58th annual general meeting of PIA which was held on Friday in Karachi. The meeting was also attended by PIA shareholders, members of the PIA board of directors and senior management. He informed the AGM about the various milestones that the airline had crossed during past year. He said the PIA was now on its way to revival and had achieved many significant goals. The revival measures included fleet modernization, route rationalization and cost-cutting.
The chairman said that nine PIA aircraft had been retired during the period which decreased the average age of the fleet to 14 years. He said the airline was now following a strict financial regimen and maintaining stringent control over spending. Schedule integrity and departure punctuality are key drivers of customer satisfaction and were being improved, he added.
The chairman said the airline was currently in the process of acquiring more fuel efficient aircraft. In 2015, the PIA planned to add 10 narrow-bodied A-320 aircraft to its fleet as well as 5 ATR -72 planes. Of these, three A-320s and two ATR-72s had already been delivered while the remaining aircraft would be inducted during this year.
As a result, the PIA chairman said the airline had succeeded in maintaining and increasing its market share in both the domestic and international segments.