LAHORE – PIA Chairman and Secretary of Defence Lt Gen (Rtd) Asif Yasin Malik, while addressing the airline employees here said that the year of 2013 will be a year of transition and change.
By March 2013 PIA will start replacing some of its fleet and revamp the present planes. We are evaluating the existing routes and will open new destinations while expanding our network, he said. He emphasized the need for customer care and that it was of prime importance that our passengers are facilitated to the maximum. From the point that he decides to travel by PIA be it reservations, check in, inflight service, baggage handling till the time he reaches his destination at every step his comfort and convenience has to be taken care off.
The chairman said that his association with the airline goes back to 1960’s when he first traveled on PIA from Lahore to Karachi. Since then he has traveled on more than 25 different airlines of the world and has a clear vision as to the improvement in the airline. I have come with a capacity to work 25 hours for the airline and with you as a team, I am sure it will make a difference. The last couple of weeks since I took over, I have met a section of employees, and one thing which is encouraging is that all of them want PIA to succeed and come out of its present situation, he said.
Since October 2012, we are now in the operating profit. PIA is also planning to buy planes for cargo and PIA investments - the hotels in Paris and New York have also started to earn profits. You as a team we will definitely grow and control our losses, but we have to improve in every area and need to rectify our mistakes. There will be no compromise on merit and discipline meanwhile corruption and leakages will have to be severely dealt with, he emphasized.
The chairman said that he and his management were reviewing the pension system, medical system, and planning a complete revamp of the IT system.
The salary structure will also be reviewed specially group 1 to 4. Regarding daily wages there will definitely be a raise in their salary, he said.