LAHORE - PIA is all set to induct new planes in its fleet for which airline management has also invited tender last month. Sources in the national carrier said that airline won confidence of one million more passengers during the year 2106 as compare to the previous year of 2015. A senior officer of PIA said that during 2015 about 4.5 millions passengers travelled with PIA while this number increased to 5.5 million in 2016.

Keeping in view the trust of the general public airline management has decided to increase the number of planes and for that purpose a tender has been floated last month and bids were invited.

Though PIA has returned a plane A-330 to Sri Lankan government the lease of which was ended on February 9, last month.

But Premier Service started from Lahore and Islamabad to London continues and B-777 were being used for said purpose.

For the maximum comfort of the passengers airline was going to upgrade its B-777 and sources said that seats of the B-777 are being replaced with new and comfortable ones and In Flight Entertainment (IFE) system is also being upgraded.

To a question that how many planes were scheduled to be inducted in the fleet, spokesman for PIA said that that it was not decided yet. He said that tender has been invited and after keeping in view the availability of planes management will decide the number of planes which suit to airline.

Well placed sources in the airline said that PIA’s Premier Service was causing constant losses to the national flag carrier already facing financial crisis. They said that the above service had caused at least Rs 1.24 billion loss during the first three months of its beginning.

The new service was started by CEO Bernd Hildenbrand who was planning to extend this service to other countries. As per the agreement, wet lease (through which a plane is leased along with crew members) was supposed to end on November 9. It was scheduled to be converted into dry lease under which the crew members were to be sent back, but the airline management extended the wet lease for further three months. And ultimately it was ended on February 9, last month.

At present, the airline was operating total six flights to and from Pakistan – three flights from Lahore and as many from Islamabad. During connecting flights, sometimes passengers have to face problems when they land at Islamabad airport and have to avail a connecting flight for Lahore.

It merits mention here that Premier Service was the initiative of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who himself had inaugurated it. But an aviation expert, seeking anonymity, said the in-flight entertainment (IFE) system could be made in B-777 planes already owned by PIA with far less amount than that being spent on the lease of A330.

He said only attraction of A330 was that there was an active IFE system installed in it. Seats in business class are also latest and comfortable which could be converted into flat beds.0