PIA to acquire eight Boeing 777 by next year: CEO

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plans to expand its fleet by adding eight wide-body aircraft next year to enhance long-route operations, the airline’s CEO, Khurram Mushtaq, informed a Senate committee.

The Senate Standing Committee on Aviation, chaired by MNA Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar, convened on Monday at Islamabad International Airport, according to a press release.

During the briefing, the CEO announced that new Boeing 777 aircraft would be deployed for long-haul flights. He also confirmed that the ban on PIA flights to Europe, in place for four years, has been lifted. PIA will resume European operations with a flight to Paris on January 10, offering two weekly flights on this route.

Mushtaq highlighted a partnership with Air France, which will facilitate passengers connecting to other destinations across Europe.

Addressing complaints from committee members about in-flight meal quality, Mushtaq assured them that significant improvements had already been made.

Moreover, the CEO shared that daily flights from Karachi to Sukkur would commence on Wednesday (today). However, he noted that the construction of motorways has led to a decline in domestic air travel demand.