Part 1
"Great People to Fly With"
— This famous slogan originated from U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in March 1962, after she flew on a PIA flight to London.
During its golden era, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) helped launch Air Malta, Singapore Airlines, Gulf Air, and Emirates by providing technical, administrative, and leasing support. PIA also gave key operational backing to Air China, Philippine Airlines, Somali Airlines, and Yemenia.
Many of these airlines are now top performers worldwide—and so was PIA until the 1980s, regularly ranking among the top ten global carriers.
From the 1960s to the 1990s, PIA experienced a dramatic shift—transitioning from being ranked among the top 5 to 10 best airlines in the world to facing a steep operational and financial decline. This era is widely divided into its "Golden Age" and its subsequent downfall.
The Golden Era: 1960s to 1970s
During these two decades, PIA was a premier, trendsetting global carrier, consistently hovering in the top 5 international airlines.
Global Innovator: PIA was the first Asian airline to operate a jet aircraft (leasing a Boeing 707 in 1960) and the first to introduce fully integrated in-flight entertainment in 1962.
Elite Prestige: The airline was famous for high-class luxury. Its cabin crew uniforms were custom-designed by legendary French fashion icon Pierre Cardin, making PIA a symbol of global elegance and a trend setter.
Operational Scale: By the late 1960s and 1970s, Karachi Airport served as the "Gateway to Asia." PIA broke records, including the fastest flight time between London and Karachi (6 hours, 43 minutes)—a record that remains unbroken for that aircraft class.
Steady Prominence: 1980s
Throughout the 1980s, PIA retained its status as a highly respected global carrier, ranking between the top 10 and top 25.
Industry Authority: The airline’s reputation for engineering and training was so prestigious that it was chosen to mentor and launch major regional carriers like Emirates in 1985.
Massive Footprint: Advertisements from 1981 highlight that a PIA aircraft was scheduled to take off or land every six minutes across a network connecting 62 cities on four continents. Its engineering base was widely ranked as the absolute best in Asia.
The Deterioration: 1990s Onward
As PIA was one of the country's top employers, corrupt political mafias began using it as a tool for political bribery—appointing incompetent and nepotistic individuals for political gains. This decay spread across every department, including pilot training and other highly demanding fields. These politically backed employees were not qualified to run an airline effectively; their appointments served personal interests at the cost of flight safety and service quality. The result was a fatal major crash approximately every five years. Corruption at various levels bled the airline dry. Countless Pakistanis lost loved ones in these disasters, yet the justice system never delivered accountability. Violations continued unabated, leaving the nation in anxious waiting for yet another catastrophe.
The culture that developed is deeply troubling—particularly in maintenance practices and flight operations management. Pilots often operate at their own will, disregarding Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and showing little regard for Crew Resource Management (CRM). Two glaring examples are PIA Flight 8303 and Airblue Flight 202.
I single out Airblue 202 because it was the tragic outcome of a bad culture instilled by a retired PIA captain—a man who had served over 30 years with the airline before being hired by Airblue. In that fateful flight, he did everything possible to defy CRM, SOPs, and or published missed-approach procedures.
This toxic culture has spread so deep that most PIA employees today do not even understand the meanings of corporate safety and customer services, the two major success scales.
Equally alarming is the culture of commission in aircraft leasing. A Deputy Managing Director once asked this writer to inflate leasing prices—to benefit a select few, not the airline. That means PIA is expected to generate money for some individuals rather than for the organization itself. Compromises begin right there.
Then comes procurement—another sore point. Despite a well-established process, insiders know exactly how to bypass and deceive it. Corruption is deeply rooted, and it will not be wiped out without an extreme overhaul. Such an overhaul would require drastic measures, as roughly 80% of the current workforce is incompetent and cannot simply be retrained.
To be continued in Parts 2 and 3..
