RAWALPINDI: Serene Air, a private airline, started its operation on the domestic routes in the country on Sunday.
The airline’s first flight ER-503 Boeing 737-800 was operated from Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad on Sunday at 8 pm for Karachi with Khalid Bashir, a retired Air Commodore and Chief Operating Officer (COO), present at the airport on the occasion.
Initially, the new carrier will operate on domestic routes with four Boeing 737-800s, two of them brand new aircraft and the remaining two to five-year-old, the COO said.
He added that Serene Air would fly on domestic routes, including Islamabad-Kara-chi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan and Faisalabad. However, the flights for Skardu will start in March.
Responding to a question about the number of flights operating from major cities, the COO said that three flights would operate on the Islamabad-Karachi-Islamabad route daily, while four flights in a week will be operated between Karachi and Peshawar and four between Karachi and Faisalabad.
He added that experienced staff members and well-trained cabin crew have been inducted in the new airline. Earlier, the Pakistan International Airline, Shaheen Air and Air Blue were operating on domestic routes.
Serene Air will fly on almost all domestic routes, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Multan. CAA rules say the airline can apply for an international licence if it successfully operates on domestic routes for over a year.
At present, there are three airlines that are already flying on domestic routes, of which one is state-owned – Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The remaining two – Airblue and Shaheen Air – belong to the private sector.