Asian – Dispatch

KARACHI: Arif Habib, who acquired the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in Dec., plans to induct more than 30 aircraft in its fleet over the next two and a half years, he said on Sunday, seeking relief in jet fuel prices.
PIA is coping with the side effects of the United States-Israeli war on Iran that forced the airline to suspend and reduce flights to Beijing, Kuala Lumpur and destinations in the Gulf region after jet fuel rates reached up to $200 per barrel in recent weeks.

“We are in the market [looking] for about 20 aircraft,” Habib told Arab News in an interview on Sunday. “We are trying to get it (aircraft) delivered at the earliest. So, we are in the market and then it depends on the availability in the market.”

“You can consider 10 aircrafts are coming in 2026 and 10 in 2027,” he said, adding that they plan to induct another 16 aircraft by Dec. 2028.

The new PIA owner said they have the “necessary resources” for fleet expansion, which he said would make PIA operationally efficient and boost revenues.

The airline, which had accumulated more than $2.8 billion in losses, was privatized in December last year, when a consortium led by Arif Habib Group acquired a 75 percent stake in PIA for Rs135 billion ($482 million), valuing the airline at Rs180 billion ($643 million). The sale represented Pakistan’s most ambitious attempt in decades to reform the debt-laden airline.

The Arif Habib Group plans to invest around Rs112 billion ($400 million) in the airline to turn it around, implementing short- and long-term improvements ranging from expanding fleet to upgrading seats, targeting religious tourism markets, and engaging a foreign airline as a technical partner through strategic divestment over the next seven to eight years.

“If all these aircrafts are added it will be very good,” Habib said.

However, PIA officials have been concerned over the recent hike in jet fuel prices.

The prices of jet fuel have surged as much as 136 percent since the US-Iran war began on February 28, according to PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan.

“It was around Rs212 ($0.8) per liter, now it is touching Rs500 ($1.8),” he told Arab News.

Habib said last month it won’t be “viable to run the airline with current jet fuel prices.”

Asked about the latest situation, the PIA owner said a government committee had been formed to address the issue.

“They are working on it. They have identified the issues,” the businessman said. “We are hoping that the government will announce relief in this.”

The consortium, which includes AKD Group Holdings, Fatima Fertilizer Company, City Schools, Lake City Holdings and Pakistan’s army-owned Fauji Fertilizer Company, are set to take over PIA later this month.

“The government has to meet some condition precedents (CPs),” Habib said. “They are saying that they will do it by the end of April.”

Source: Arab News – Pakistan.