KARACHI – In a surprising move, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has made a seventeen percent ad hoc increase in the salaries of its staff members and officers despite the fact that the company declared Rs1.94 billion net losses in the first quarter of current year.
The 17 percent ad hoc salary increment will be effective from this month, though industry sources termed it just a political move of the ineligible administration to please the cronies.
However, PIA Spokesperson Muhammad Aamir Memon claimed that the company had achieved a gross operating profit of Rs2.83 billion in the first quarter of 2015 as against a gross operating loss of Rs3.93 billion in the same period of 2014. He said that with the inclusion of fuel efficient, narrow-bodied aircraft, the airline’s operations improved, enabling efficiency and better control on fuel cost.
Sources, in contrast, pointed out that the 49% decline in fuel cost in the first quarter of 2015 due to dwindling international oil prices, steered the PIA’s gross profits to Rs5.7 billion as compared to gross loss of Rs102.507 million during the corresponding period of 2014. But, the higher administrative and interest expenses eroded the gains.
Earlier, reportedly the management of PIA gifted 20 business class round trip tickets to some fashion designers for London and as many business class return tickets for Dubai to a TV channel.
The airline is in the process of increasing the capacity by inducting more narrow-bodied aircraft. Five ATR’s and two wide-bodied aircrafts on dry lease had already been initiated through a transparent and competitive bidding process.
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