Just Flying?
The European Union (EU) has put “operational restriction” on all but 7 Boeing-777s of PIA from flying to any of the 27 EU member countries. Effectively 34 aircraft out of the fleet of 41 (almost 83%) of the fleet can only operate in Asia and Africa (and possibly to the Arctic and Antarctica!). About a year ago EU had given a clear warning to PIA to meet international aircraft maintenance standards, on the management’s failure to act positively EU carried out their threat. The “conspiracy theorists” believe that PIA management have been deliberately negligent so that they could purchase more Boeing-777s, rather simplistic given that newly purchased ATR-50s acquired from France are also banned. That our engineering standards have gone well below their normal average is only partly the fault of the present management. The rot really started when the Engineering Department was decimated in 1998. They have never recovered, it has been downhill since. The EU ban was a disaster waiting to happen, PIA’s once-vaunted Engineering Department now itself needs disaster management. The EU ban not only affects airlines revenues but PIA’s reputation and the morale of the entire organization. What about the major embarrassment for Pakistan as a country, who should we hold accountable?
Once the corporate management model to emulate in Pakistan, thanks to Air Marshal Nur Khan and Mian Rafiq Saigol, PIA’s top management is presently marketing-heavy. The difference between marketing executives and magicians is that marketing gurus create perceptions and magicians create illusions. Perceptions must still embellish facts, illusions have no substance. PIA’s present management is caught somewhere in the “Twilight Zone” between perception and illusions, whereas it really needs to concentrate fully on “operations”. Tariq Kirmani is a marketing executive from the petroleum industry, this expertise is showing in PIA. A substantial sum has been spent on renovating/refurbishing the Head Offices. Even through PIA is incurring losses, one has to agree with Kirmani that the principal office of the county’s flag carrier must reflect the standards it is expected to display. PIA’s cabin services have always been good, subject to the Flight Pursar being competent the service usually becomes far better than the ordinary, certainly far better than the impersonal Emirates attitude. And only a major compulsion will get me to fly “Etihad” again! Diverted on a flight from Karachi to Abu Dhabi on 25 Feb 07, due to fog at Abu Dhabi Airport, we spent 3 hours on the ground at Al Ain with the airhostesses too busy talking to each other to care about the passengers, and that too in Business Class! Give Tariq Kirmani credit in fixing up the airline lounges and passenger facilitation. I disagree about the meals being sumptuous, the longest flight within Pakistan being 2 hours or less, do we really need meals at 5-star opulence when this is not even on offer in Europe or the US?
According to PIA the impact of fuel and the additional financing cost thereof meant expenditures rose by Rs.18 billion, the “operating expenditure” thus exceeding revenues, PIA suffered a loss of Rs. 9 billion plus during the period Jan-Sep 2005. In claiming 22% increased revenues in 2005 and 2006, PIA should have given comparisons of the previous two years, 2003 and 2004. In any case is the PIA revenue accounting system accurate in the face of the auditors’ observations? What has PIA done about implementing an effective accounting package? Important comparisons are RPK, RFTR and YIELD, why not disclose these? Compare the seat factor similarly, more importantly what was average aircraft utilization in any given period? And the utilization of cockpit crew? What capacity utilization in terms of passenger and cargo both does PIA have to show when compared to the previous two years? When talking about market share what comparison with other airlines in the region? The failure to “hedge” for fuel increases was certainly negligent, why did none of the major airlines record a comparable loss? While PIA’s present management cannot be held accountable for not “hedging”’ the fuel prices in 2004, once in the chair Tariq Kirmani could have overcome bureaucratic straitjacket given the knowledge from his previous job as Chairman PSO.
PIA has taken up E-ticketing, gone ahead with “Frequent Flyer” programs, established a Business Unit for tours and travels, mishandled baggage is now being delivered at residences, limousine services has been started, fuel prices are being hedged etc, will all this help PIA bounce back to profitability? PIA’s credibility is on thin ice, quoting the media handout (on Mar 3, 2007 two days after the EU Ban was announced), “the Air Safety Committee of EU visited Pakistan during 12-16 February 2007 and expressed its satisfaction over PIA aircrafts all operational and professional issues. It was followed by another meeting in Brussels during 21-23 February 2007”, unquote. Goebbels would have been proud, the spin doctor PIA employs is worthy of Hitler’s propaganda chief who would keep lying through his teeth in the face of truth! If everything was hunky-dory, why the ban?
Tariq Kirmani has not been able to cope with PIA’s present predicament. His defiance at a recent Press Conference was inappropriate, to say the least, in the face of facts. PIA did what all Pakistanis do, shove an inconvenient truth under the rug and hope it will go away. EU called PIA’s bluff! Kirmani should have concentrated on “operations” as primary aim, dabbling in “marketing” should have been a secondary aim, given that PIA has a whole lot of “captive” routes and passengers. Instead of cosmetic and sales pitches, what about inter-acting positively with those who fly the aircraft and those who keep the aircraft flying? What effort has been put on them? One is extremely proud of PIA’s pilots and cabin crews, they are still among the best in the world, what has been done for them? Hiring airhostesses from abroad of the Malika Shararat-kind at ten times the local salaries may shore up male passenger morale, it is hardly the answer to shore up cabin crew morale. What effort is being made to re-vitalise the engineering department? In a manpower-heavy corporate entity (not because of Kirmani but the political interference that started in the 70s), arrogant management styles and the salesman penchant to sell oneself rather than the product is a non-starter. Airlines should have pretty air hostesses but that does not call for demeaning and sidelining those who have served you well over the years. The new designer tails for PIA aircraft are certainly looking good but again all that is cosmetic, it detracts resources and time from other priorities. What EU is asking for is about is the state of the engine under the shining hood. To quote a famous burger ad, “where’s the beef?
What is needed is emergent evaluation of the situation so that PIA keeps flying. The marketing man has done all he could do in trying to shore up the airline’s image, a priority certainly but in the circumstances the wrong one. PIA does not need anyone adept at creating perceptions and illusions but someone conversant with and capable of dealing with the nitty-gritty of operations. What PIA needs desperately is a person of substance.
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