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Hofmann's recommendations

Necessary image change - with Pakistan Premier to London

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[Translate to en:] Chief Executive Officer PIA, Bernd Hildenbrand und Sri Lankan Airlines Chairman, Ajith Dias nach Vertragsunterzeichnung für die Anmietung von drei Airbus A330 in Colombo am 29.07.2016

The image of Pakistan's airline - Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) - can certainly be described as poor in the western world. Its Managing Director, the German Bernd Hildenbrand, who is tasked with changing the quality of PIA, is well aware of this.

The fleet is certainly modern and the pilots have a very good standard of training. "But the service must be improved and PIA must catch up with airlines such as Emirates," says Hildenbrand with regard to the ambitious goal. As a first step, a 4-year agreement was signed with SriLankan Airlines for the lease of three Airbus A330s. These relatively new aircraft will be used on all flights between Pakistan and London under the name "Pakistan Premier". The first flight will take place on August 14. The new Premier service will be offered six times a week. There will be three weekly flights from Islamabad and three from Lahore. "With three aircraft, it could also be possible to introduce the Premier Service to Paris," confirms Hildenbrand. All three aircraft should be available by the end of the year. The leasing of further aircraft from Sri Lanka is being examined.

The Airbus A330 aircraft have a cabin configuration of 28 seats in Business Class and 269 in Economy Class. "We are also recruiting 125 new flight attendants. Each one will be personally interviewed by me, hand-picked," says Hildenbrand. PIA is also planning flights to Germany and possible new routes within Asia, such as to Bangkok. In addition to the three leased A330s, up to five PIA Boeing 777s will be equipped with a new business and economy class cabin, as well as state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment. The first modernized aircraft should be available from February 2017. Connoisseur Circle will be testing whether Pakistan Premier is worth a recommendation over the next few weeks.

Text: Kurt Hofmann



Connoisseur Circle Reiseservice GmbH Mariahilfer Straße 88a/II/2a 1070 Wien, Austria +43 1 890 69 77-24, +43 1 890 69 77-10, office@ccircle.cc
 

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