PIA flew 19,000 people to Pakistan during the height of pandemic

Muscat: 19,000 people in Oman, including thousands of Pakistani nationals working in the country, were flown to Pakistan during the height of the pandemic even as countries around the globe were organising repatriation flights to bring their citizens home.

“I am eternally grateful that we were able to provide services and assist those who required us during the pandemic, without the need for them to come to our office,” said Mohammed Arif, country manager for Pakistan International Airlines in Oman.

“Without any complaints or any difficulties to people, we were able to fly nearly 19,000 people home. We told our people that this is our national airline, and we will support them in any eventuality.

“We had roughly about 100 repatriation flights organised during the pandemic, and each one of them were full,” he added. “We made it a point to offer round-the-clock services during these testing times, even going to their doorstep to offer services when required. We did our utmost to make sure they found seats on our flights.”

Arif admitted that the efforts to fly Pakistani expats home from Oman were a team effort, singling out PIA’s Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Executive Officer for their initiative. The Embassy of Pakistan also extended tremendous support.

He said: “It is because of this teamwork from our community, our management and our embassy that we were successful.”
As a result of these efforts, there has been an increased demand for seats on board the national carrier’s planes, leading to PIA expanding their operations from nine flights a week to 20.

“Pre-pandemic, we had nine flights a week, and now we have 20 flights,” said Arif. “Hopefully, in the coming days, we will have two more flights. What people like is our easy accessibility. There are other minor issues that need to be addressed, but it is important that we do so, because it is these minor chinks that can lead to major concerns.

“One of the issues was that people complained that we didn’t give them good service, and that annoyed them. So that was something we needed to address,” he added. “When we began giving round-the-clock service to the people, they really began seeing us positively. Now that we have increased demand for flights, it has been easy to convince the management to increase the number of flights to and from Oman.”

PIA’s decision to increase the frequency of flights to Pakistan has been welcomed by members of the Pakistani community in Oman. Pakistan school staff in Oman have been among the most regular PIA passengers and are happy to acknowledge the overall improvement.

“PIA has done a lot to improve its image by overhauling its system in recent years. We are extremely glad to observe a marked improvement in customer handling by PIA staff and regularity in flight schedule. The airline now keeps its passengers updated ten days prior to their flight and, above all, offers highly competitive prices fetching it increased revenue of late. I have no hesitation in acknowledging that things have improved noticeably over the last few years,” remarked Nasir Nawaz, senior principal, Pakistan Schools Oman.

Akhmat Hayat Raja, former PSC Chairman and former Pakistan schools board member, has been a frequent flyer since 1983 and feels that Pakistan’s national carrier has raised the bar and is winning rave reviews from its regular customers.

He said: “Apart from travelling on PIA, I have been working closely with the airline management in Oman for a number of social causes in the last four decades and have seen many ups and downs in service. However, the airline’s check-in and onboard services have improved a lot in recent years. The current PIA country head Mohammed Arif did an exceptional job during the pandemic, helping the stranded Pakistanis repatriate to their homeland.

“He has worked hard to bring PIA back from the lows of the pandemic, restoring its commercial operations with great success,” explained Raja. “It is heartening to see 20 direct flights from Oman in a week carrying passengers to eight destinations in Pakistan, covering all big cities for the first time in the history of its operations in Oman. Apart from transporting human bodies free of charge, it is also offering lower fares to help the labour class when all other airlines are charging exorbitant prices. We are proud of our airline for operating with a heart.”

By improving its operations, PIA has succeeded in winning many elite customers and globe trotters. Dr Sharif Ataullah, a prominent cardiothoracic surgeon in Oman, now chooses to travel on PIA whenever possible.

“I have been travelling to various parts of the world on other airlines, but now prefer PIA, particularly to Pakistan, because of a marked improvement in its standards. The flight crew is well-mannered and cooperative with better food quality and choice on this route,” he said.

However, the doctor feels the airline needs to improve its seating and operate more check-in counters at Karachi airport, for flights operating to international destinations.