Open Skies
While an “Open Skies” policy is a natural extension of the government’s liberalisation programme, deregulation of the aviation industry has been one of the most significant of the Nawaz Government’s initiatives. This two-pronged foray creates a new dynamics (“let a hundred flowers bloom”) in the body economic of Pakistan, serving to propel a wider percentage of our masses pell mell into the twentieth century’s technological marvels and its benefits thereof, albeit in its very last decade. Just before Eid, a private airline announced inaugural operations on one of the most travelled aerial sectors in Pakistan, Karachi-Islamabad-Karachi. Hajvairy Airlines thus become the first to break PIA’s monopoly of the domestic aerial routes, one hopes that more private airlines will follow to open up shuttle services on the pattern available in most western countries between the key major cities. Expectations that the advent of more aviation companies would mean the death knell for PIA are patently incorrect, this should act as a tremendous boost for the national airline. Bereft of a marker for evaluation, PIA has suffered in the lack of comparison thereof. PIA’s competitive spirit would be aroused to cater for survival in the new dynamics.
The government must ensure that an “Open Skies” policy should have reciprocity as a fundamental principle. Take the example of Kenya, which sells us tea worth more than US150 million annually and purchases virtually nothing in return. Despite the fact that Kenya Airlines comes to Karachi, they have not given PIA the requested landing rights (only) on the way to Johannesburg. This is taking undue advantage of the “Open Skies” policy to the detriment of PIA (and the nation). The government must impose mandatory sanctions against those who do not reciprocate our liberal generosity. The other factor is that socio-economic factors rather than commercial factors govern present operation on many of PIA’s domestic routes, that handicap must be adjusted against the balance when assessing PIA’s performance vis-a-vis private airlines who will only be governed by commercial parameters.
AVM Farooq Umar of the PAF has been nominated as the new Managing Director PIA, replacing a long suffering PIA professional, Malik Nawaz Tiwana. As a home grown PIA executive with diverse experience in virtually all the Departments of PIA, a lot of hopes were vested in Tiwana for the improvement of PIA. After a period of consolidation he had started to make the changes necessary to base his future reforms upon. His tenure was cut short very much like the departure of another superb professional before him, Arif Abbasi, who had simply thrown up his hands and resigned in disgust and frustration. Other than his normal PAF stint as a combat pilot, AVM Farooq Umar headed the PAF Aeronautical Complex at Kamra and was Managing Director of the Shaheen Airlines, giving him limited but valuable civilian-type Corporate exposure. He thus comes to PIA comparatively better qualified for the MD’s job than any of the PAF officers who served before him. Whether he can translate that into rejuvenation for the PIA is a thing of the future. He has already staked his objective as a determination to improve substantially PIA’s performance and image, bringing it at par with reputable international carriers like Singapore Airlines and Emirates. His reputation as a workaholic and super-achiever will be severely put to the test.
It is indeed a tragedy that PIA that had done so much for manpower and technical-wise for the creation and development of many airlines in the Third World including Singapore Airlines and the Emirates should now look to them as role models to emulate. PIA was once the envy of all comers, today image-wise it is in a deplorable state, running primarily on the goodwill momentum of yesterday. With national monopoly over certain sectors threatened by the “Open Skies” policy, its profitability is bound to be affected unless drastic reforms are enacted, including a shake-up of top management, to cope with the new realities.
The mission of any airline is to transport passengers and cargo from one point to another, safely, on time and in comfort, at a profit to the airline. To support the accomplishment of its mission, entities like the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) exist to develop and maintain modern airports with sophisticated ground support equipment and electronics backed by an organisation for purposes of security like the Airport Security Force (ASF). In the case of PIA the MISSION has been severely qualified by extraneous national socio-economic requirements like investments in hotels, poultry farms, sports activities, operations on non-profitable routes due to national compulsions, induction of excess manpower and promotions sponsored and/or dictated by government functionaries based neither on the requirement or merit, lack of effective enforcement of discipline, etc, etc. In particular it has a Pathfinder role imposed upon for socio-economic reasons having nothing to do with aviation and which diverts its aviation focus.
Unfortunately for us, our aviation services have deteriorated to a great extent starting from the upkeep of modern facilities at airports and the shabby treatment of passengers passing through the security cordon. Except for Karachi’s new Jinnah International Airport, our airports are not upto international standards, inside and out. The ASF has a severe attitude problem that exposes the passengers to unnecessary harassment and pronounced discourtesy. Security professionals who know their job have no need to cover their short-comings by being abrasive. Unfortunately, the examples of the senior officers on deputation, barring exceptions like Brigadiers Saleem Zia and Tariq Rafi, has been bad. One has hope that the new incumbent, Brig Rasheed Ali Malik, will not become a statutory pocket-Pharaoh like some of his predecessors and subordinates. We will wait and see, reserving the right of accountability if need be.
Whatever the Airline does, the passenger’s perception of comfort within the aircraft is the factor that leaves the most lasting impression. Airlines succeed or fail on the strength of their cabin crew performance. Despite the fact that we have above par cockpit crew, PIA service quality in the air is generally intermittent. Mostly dependant upon the performance of the Flight Pursar, the average cabin crew quality has deteriorated over the years. In fairness, male stewards seem to generally hold their own, the problem seems to be mainly with Pursars and prima donna Airhostesses. Wherever a Pursar decides to become another passenger, which is usually the case, the in-flight service for the passengers becomes atrocious. One must take into account the problems PIA’s cabin crew face in dealing with a high level of crude behaviour among expatriate Pakistanis going or returning from abroad, cabin crew frustrations sometimes spill over to the detriment of the other revenue passengers. The female cabin crew have generally become so spoiled that it is a commonly held belief that they cannot be disciplined even if they were to abuse you. Drastic measures are necessary! To begin with they should be sent back to PIA Ground Training School in batches for one week of extensive courtesy training and motivation classes where they should be graded for attitude and efficiency besides other factors. It should be instilled in them that their performance, particularly with respect to customer care, will make or break PIA and that their jobs/promotion in the future will be directly related to that factor.
PIA’s major problem is one of discipline. PIA has the best salary package and working conditions in Pakistan for its employees, yet the employees tend to compare it with the level of foreign carriers without looking at the low threshold of the national average though one accepts there is somewhat of an anomaly here. In time, the Unions have become so strong that it is almost impossible to discipline anyone in PIA except for the poor Managing Director who is always available as a convenient fall-guy. As a sop to public approbation the MD is summarily sacrificed from time to time while the real culprits continue in their fiefdoms like the proverbial river. Malik Nawaz Tiwana was recently berated by the PM on prime time TV for the unfortunate episode in Lahore when an entire family met a fatal accident on the way back home after being denied seats despite having confirmed tickets. The buck stops with the MD but accountability decreed that the Station Manager should have been held directly responsible for the failure to honour confirmed status and thus this tragedy. Ludicrous as it may seem, since he had “connections” among the powers-that-be, he has since been promoted. This is true, not sheer nonsense, it serves to highlight PIA’s plight, the ineffectiveness of the MD disciplining his executives because of the patronage of key government functionaries. It also serves to undercut the PM’s credibility about justice being equal.
Arif Abbasi and Malik Nawaz Tiwana did not fail as MDs, they were never given the proper chance. You cannot run a conglomerate like PIA with the decks stacked against you. How come people in high places continue to absolve the other senior executives in PIA from a major and continuing contribution to PIA’s decline? And why does PIA need such people whose job description at best can be described as ambiguous, who have come up on the Client-Patron net and who only seem responsible to those in the governmental hierarchy whom they keep happy and themselves? Isn’t the BCCI experience a good enough example of how senior corporate executives have the tendency to corrupt their own organisation and those around them? Justice may be blind, in the case of PIA it seems to have blinded the PM with respect to nepotism and corruption. AVM Farooq Umar may be a high powered executive but he will certainly flounder unless he has absolute authority to use a sweeping broom to rid PIA from top to bottom of the parasites who seem to have life-time sinecure sucking the corporate blood of a (once-upon-a-time) fine national asset like PIA. The government should give the new MD a free hand for one solid year without any interference whatsoever and hold him accountable after that year if things have not improved substantially. Let him choose his own Corporate team by himself without prompting by vested interest.
Both Arif Abbasi and Malik Nawaz Tiwana were diverse personalities who were fine home-grown PIA professionals. Tiwana and Abbasi could never see eye to eye on anything, Tiwana being very deliberate about his decisions while Arif Abbasi was flamboyant and decisive, both in their own ways deserving much better than what they ultimately got. Down the road the same thing is going to happen to AVM Farooq Umar unless he establishes his writ of authority and government functionaries restrain their urges to push their favourites into jobs into an already super-saturated corporate entity. We now wait to see whether business continues as usual in PIA or things change!
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