POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

AND WAY FORWARD FOR

PAKISTAN AVIATION INDUSTRY
A Case Study of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

By Fiza Siddiq
PAKISTAN AVIATION INDUSTRY

Contribution PIA controlled

in Pakistan’s domestic routes
GDP = 10.5% = 51%

Jobs PIA controlled

creation = international routes =
500,000 28%
ISSUES
Recurring
incidents of
plan crash

Issue of Issue of fake

delayed flights licenses

Outdated Lack of
Maintenances leadership

Lack of
financial
resources
ALTERNATIVES

Reduction of Employees

Meritocracy

Accountability

Privatization
ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES

Accountability

Internal External
Control Control
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Downsizing the workers

Formation of committee

Annual and bi-annual Evaluation mechanism

PAKISTAN’S AVIATION
INDUSTRY
HIGHLIGHTED ISSUES
 ISSUES

• Lack of meritocracy
• Lack of proper planning
• Lack of finances,
• lack of organizational skills,
• Lack of leadership confidence
• Lack of customer satisfaction; For instance, lack of good cargo service, delaying
of flights ,Lack of good food for tired passengers etc.
• Lack of maintenance
• LACK OF MERITOCRACY (DE MERIT POLICY )
• 150 pilots are being undergrounded just because they hold fake licenses as aviation
minister said almost 1 in 3 pilots hold fake licenses

• FAKE DEGREE/LICENSED BASED EMPLOYS

• 262 pilots working in aviation are with fake degrees as they paid someone else to sit in
exams according to their behalf. European Union Bans Pak International Airlines Over
Fake Pilot Licenses.
POOR DECISION MAKING
• Lack of planning, lack of co-ordination, lack of organizational
skills, lack of leadership and confidence, No records of proper
revenues and expenditures, last but not the least, unqualified and
unsuitable directors. Some PIA flights are never scheduled; no
route coordination is done before hand.
LACK OF COORDINATION
• The factor of coordination lacks inside the PIA as well as outside
with the other airlines. It is seen that PIA lacks spirit of doing team
work.
OUTDATED ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS
• According to report published by BBC it is highlighted that board of directors have not any experience to
run a biggest organization like PIA. Similarly, the also lack how to run an organization because if they have
PIA will never have to face the loses.

LEADERSHIP CRISIS
• PIA also suffered from good leadership crisis due to political interference. PIA today don’t have a
permanent CEO according to a report published in 23rd March 2017. How one can perform satisfactory,
when one knows that he/she is temporary on that seat?

• UNQUALIFIED AND UNSUITABLE DIRECTORS

• According to the BBC report Urdu some of the directors in PIA are not capable and unsuitable for that
position three of the directors, salaries are 3lacs per month and they have been not assigned any work to do
still they are getting their salaries.
FINANCIAL CRUNCH
• PIA lack resource management training due to lack of
proper organizational skills and finances because on
organization there were high influences of other
organizations so he side lined those influences so that PIA
could work independently. No records of proper revenues
and expenditures due to which PIA is spending more and
generating revenue less because there are no proper
records.
LACK OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
• PIA lack customer satisfaction because there were many complaints which were reported by
the passengers some of them are mentioned below .

LACK OF GOOD CARGO SERVICE

• According to the CEO of PIA Arshad malik he told in one of his video that cargo was the
forgotten chapter of PIA and even passengers have to pay extra charges which was very costly
for the passengers.

DELAYING OF FLIGHTS
• There are so many cases in which flights from PIA were delayed many of the passengers
complained about that and the reason of the delaying in the flights were technical fault.
LACK OF GOOD FOOD FOR PASSENGERS
• As we know passengers are tired at least they deserve good and healthy food as they are
travelling and been waiting on the airports for the hours. Senator sherry Rehman laminated at
PIA for not serving good food.
• “Soaked in oil deep-fried snacks on @OfficialPIA even the hungry turned away. Why is the
flight kitchen not waking up to complaints?” (Tweet by senator Sherry Rehman)

LACK OF ENTRAINMENT FACILITIES FOR PASSENGERS

• Gulalai Ismail traveler form London to Lahore shared a video and concluded that PIA offered
worst service which she had ever experienced her flight was of 7 hours consecutive and she told
that entrainment unit was not working she also recorded in the video that there were no proper
bulbs, lightening so she was unable to read and to spend her time similarly when she asked
from the attendants for the pillow and blanket they told that they don’t have.
POOR MAINTENANCE, LACK OF PROPER CARE FOR THE
PLANES AND EQUIPMENT

• PIA got a lot grand support of equipment but due to lack of care
they were rusted and equipment are the backbone of aircraft so
they were unable to recovered by labor. Due to lack of care PIA
have to pay for resources in dollars .
PROBLEM IN HUMAN RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT

• Lack of resource management training

• PIA lacks basic resource management training due to
which PIA is unable to solve and rationalize their
problems from roots as a result PIA suffered form huge
loss
ALTERNATIVES
By SAAD KAUSAR
From being one of the best airline services in the past to being ranked as the ‘third-worst’ in the
world, the fall for the Pakistan International Airlines has been because of tremendous
corruption, nepotism, mismanagement, external influence, lack of leadership, and poor
maintenance.

Sheikh Muhammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the
UAE, in his autobiography has explained how he set-up, the now famous ‘Emirates, from two
leased planes from PIA; “Emirates begin in 1985 with two leased planes. Today we connect 147
destinations on 5 continents with 240 planes and we have 267 more on order”, HH Sheikh
Muhammad. He also stated that the PIA also trained Emirates’ first staff members and ensured
that they had everything needed for the project and several weeks later the airline had a name
(Emirates).
We have already discussed the reasons for its downfall, now we would like to highlight some of
the alternatives the PIA administration can take to salvage the drowning Airline:

1)Reduction of employees

2)Meritocracy

3)Accountability

4)Privatization
REDUCTION OF EMPLOYEES
• According to an article published in ‘The Diplomat’, PIA has over 14,800+ employees for a fleet of 30
aircrafts which makes it 450-500 members for one aircraft, whereas Emirates had, before Covid-19
struck, 60,000 employees for a total of 300 aircrafts (200 per plane), and they have reduced it further;
experts say you only need 50 members for one aircraft (big ones).
• Over the years, as the airline has continuously lost in billions, ironically its employees have increased.
This does not go well for a declining airline service. Financial adviser to the PTI government, Salman
Shah quoted, “The main issue is that there are less planes and more crew, we need to downsize the
quantity of employees.”
• In 2016, PIA was ranked ‘second-worst’ in terms of employee-to-aircraft ratio, second only to Syrian
Air. Bottom line is that there should be downsizing in the quantity of staff because just in order to save
the livelihood of some 100 we cannot afford to lose the lives of thousands who pay to travel with PIA.
MERITOCRACY
• Meritocracy refers to a society governed by or a characteristic of a society in which
power is held by people selected according to merit, according to their talents and
skills.

• The Pakistan International Airlines, if seen in context of a society has been in the
hands and influence of people who do not meet the required criteria or reach the merit,
needed to administer it. Also, majority of the current employees hold a fake degree;
“The inductions in 1992, saw unacceptable asymmetries, with many pilots and
engineers having fake degrees”, said former PIA Flight engineer Tariq Ali.
ACCOUNTABILITY
• Aviation journalist and analyst Tahir Imran Mian quoted the former PIA Chairman late Azam Sehgal,
“We sack people and they come back. Employees sacked and removed for corruption are working on
stay orders.”
• Those employees who are removed for corruption, drug peddling and those pilots having fake
certificates are reaching stay holders for stay orders.
• The question is who gives stay orders? It is the Judiciary! Tahir Imran also states that the involvement
of judiciary in the PIA internal matters has further worsened the airline’s deteriorating situation.
• Thus it seems that the ruining of PIA has not only been done at the hands of the military or politicians
but the judiciary is also involved and all need to join hands to rescue the airlines from tumbling
further downhill.
PRIVATIZATION
• The Orient Airways based in Calcutta, British India and founded on 29 October, 1946 was nationalized to form
the Pakistan International Airlines after the state of Pakistan was carved out on the map of the world.
• Its privatization is not an idea to be cherished but it is an alternative for the government if it wants to rescue the
airline.
• Attempts have been made in the past like the introduction of the PIA Corporation (Conversion) Bill in 2015 by
the PML-N government in the National Assembly, followed by violent conflicts in 2016, against it.
• Financial advisor to the PTI government says that we could have a public-private partnership just like the
Turkish Airlines. The Turkish Airlines is half owned by the government and half by the private sector and it is
going really good and making profits. Salman Shah stressed that we do not have any other option then to go for
downsizing and privatizing the corporation because we lack the money to further support PIA.
• Tariq Ali (former PIA flight engineer) cautioned, “If the current state continues then sanctions could be imposed
on us and no airline would fly to Pakistan.” We have already witnessed that the European Union has temporarily
banned all PIA flights to and from its member states for six months.
ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES
By HAMZA AZIZ
ALTERNATIVES
• Reduction of Employees

• Meritocracy

• Accountability

• Privatization
 THE BEST ALTERNATIVE IN
MY OPINION

“Accountability”

Why I had to Choose one alternative?

According to Grover Starling

“Decision-making means the selecting from various alternatives, one course of action”.
 DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
• Several steps which if followed can help implementing the right decision which are following
• Identifying the problem

• Background knowledge

• Objectives

• Alternatives

• Collection of Data

• Cost and Benefit Analysis

• Testing the Alternatives

• Applying different alternatives in case one does not work

• Implementation

• Finally, Feedback
 DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
• Factors that plays a huge impact on the Decision-Making-Process are mainly three
which are mentioned below

1. Personality Traits of Decision Maker

2. Knowledge of the Decision Maker
3. Institutional Framework
ACCOUNTABILITY
The best possible alternative in my opinion by keeping in view the
several steps and factors that impacts the Decision-Making-process
would be “Accountability”.
?WHY ACCOUNTABILITY
“Accountability”, when the employees be it the Chairman of PIA or the security personal
or the clerk would have to give answers of their deeds/actions to the legislature they
would definitely realize their responsibility.

The problem with our Airline is that we know that the problem exists in accountability.
The officers or personals at the higher post treat the airline as it is their personal
inheritance. We by now from the research proposal know that corruption is one major
setback, and no doubt it’s not just the top officials but the problem has gripped the
industry to its core.
?WHY ACCOUNTABILITY

In my opinion if the spirit of accountability is ensured to its true essence, PIA can
even ensure hiring people on the basis of merit, only the deserving would be hired
and the whole work force would be the one which is deserving and hardworking.
Cutting down the number of employees would surely reduce the manpower needed
and would eventually increase the workload of those who would still be employed,
instead of creating jobs this would be causing unemployment.
THROUGH “INTERNAL & EXTERNAL CONTROL” THE
PROCESS OFACCOUNTABILITY CAN BE ENSURED
INTERNAL CONTROL

‘Internal Control’, would occur when there is process of accountability

within the Airline. By setting up different departments and groups
within the PIA, would help define the work required from them. There
should be a clear hierarchical order in the organization. All employees
should follow the orders of their superior - the one in command, the
employees should only take orders from their superiors.
EXTERNAL CONTROL

‘External Control’, could also help in restoring the PIA airlines back to
its lost glorified past. Different department should be linked to the
airlines who could serve as assistant, they can guide the airlines in
making policies, implementing them and can also tell them about
resource management. Through Legislative Control, those who are found
guilty of corruption or involved in the evil of smuggling can be trailed
and proper investigation can help reveal how good or bad the situation is.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
DOWNSIZING THE WORKERS
• The executive needs to formulate a policy of scrutinizing employees on the basis of their
qualification and their skills
• Degrees and licenses of all serving pilots and employees must be verified by the education
board of Pakistan and Civil Aviation Authority respectively and anyone found guilty of holding
fake degree/license should be removed from the position.
• Remaining employees should be judged on their input towards the organization, those who are
not working in a capacity that is required by the organization should be subjected to pay cuts in
order to remind them that the organization’s resources will not be spent on non-serious employs.
• Pay cuts will serve as warning to such employs who might start working efficiently to keep
their jobs.
ALTERNATIVES TO DOWNSIZING
• organizations such as airlines can reduce their expenses by practicing the following:
• Freeze or reduce hiring
• Cut travel entertainment
• Reduce pay
• Scale back employee events
• Cut temporary staff
• Offer voluntary retirement
• Delay raises
• Freeze hiring
ACCOUNTABILITY
• Accountability as mentioned above can be increased by warning non-serious
employees with pay cuts and if their behavior doesn’t change then warning notices
should be given to employee’s time and time again to remind them that their actions
towards the organization are evaluated carefully.
• Other ways to ensure accountability and transparency in performance of employee’s
can be through a performance reward, those who work efficiently should be given
rewards to motivates them
• This can also be used as a motivational factor for other employees as well.
FORMATION OF COMMITTEES

A reward committee should be formulated in order to keep a check

and balance upon the performance of the employees which will
have to follow a formalized process for assigning rewards based on
employee evaluations.
BI-ANNUALAND ANNUAL EVALUATION MECHANISM

• Another important step for monitoring the success of the policy/alternative implemented is by
formulation of a committee which will have to monitor closely the benefits the policy has provided in
contrast to the situation that was prevailing before the implementation of the policy in the organization.
• For this purpose, bi-annual and annual evaluation reports are to be made and submitted to the
executive which can gage if the policy implemented is successful or not.
• If a positive change in behavior of employees and performance and efficiency of organization is
achieved by implementation of the policy/alternative then it should be continued and if there is no
significant change or negative change then the policy should be discontinued and another route
towards the alternative should be employed to ensure positive change in performance of both the
organization and the employees.
THANK YOU!