KARACHI: Prominent Pakistani tycoon Arif Habib has confidently claimed that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will transform into a profitable entity within its very first year of operations post-privatization. Following the acquisition by the Arif Habib Consortium, a strategic roadmap focused on financial viability and aggressive expansion has been laid out. To achieve immediate profitability, the airline will strictly optimize its routes, operating solely on commercially viable paths and completely eliminating any non-commercial or donation-based flight operations. Financially, the transition is already well underway, with 66% of the shares cleared and the remaining 34% scheduled for payment within the year.
The cornerstone of this turnaround strategy relies heavily on a massive infrastructure upgrade and fleet expansion. The consortium plans to aggressively scale the current active fleet of 19 aircraft to 60 aircraft over the next five years, a plan that kicks off with the immediate restoration of 4 to 5 grounded planes and the annual addition of 5 brand-new aircraft. To support this growth, a major capital investment will be injected directly into upgrading PIA’s engineering and maintenance facility in Karachi. Furthermore, this corporate shift prioritizes workforce stability; under the agreement, no current employees will be laid off during the first year, while executive hiring is already underway to secure top-tier leadership within the next 45 days. Ultimately, the entire workforce is projected to scale up in tandem with the expanding fleet, marking a decisive shift from state-backed survival to commercial profitability.
