Decision by PIA for Code Sharing agreement with Etihad is a step in the right direction, provided airline takes immediate steps to eliminate cartels by few travel agents and instead goes for open sales through online sales and booking, bypassing middlemen and passing benefit of commissions directly to the customers. This will prevent large scale pilferage of revenues and imposition of heavy fines that PIA was forced to pay to travel agents, for one sided agreements signed exclusively to benefit a select group of UK based travel agents by corrupt members of previous management. All such cartels existing in Europe, America, Far East etc need to be eliminated.
Grounding of new aircrafts like B 777 because of faulty deals for procurement of technical spares, where instead of choosing from numerous aircraft manufacturer recommended vendors located along the network, PIA under former MD chose a single vendor based in UAE, thereby escalating cost of maintenance, leading to long delays and disruption of schedules. Mere induction of new aircrafts without a thorough in-house surgical cleansing of corrupt mafia within procurement, marketing, corporate planning, engineering, flight operations and finance, this would only result in investing good money on projects destined to flop. These former MDs have become billionaires owning business and real estate all over Gulf and Pakistan.
PIA needs to weed out all those irregularly appointed during 2008 to 2012, including those involved in financial and administrative irregularities and those who submitted fake degrees, birth certificates and domiciles in order to restore discipline within the organization. Otherwise, this new bailout of Rs11 billion will go down the drain.
RAHAT SIDDIQI
Dubai, UAE
I am not sure, if I can second that. When takes 25 hours for a journey that should take only 8 hours, its hard to justify the deal. PIA is essential now a ticketing agency of Etihad Airways. Turkish Airlines deal was a much better deal for PIA and its employees.
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