This is not an account of a
plane crash. Rather, it’s about a whole airline company coming crashing down; an
organisation which has completely lost direction. Pakistan International
Airlines (PIA), once soaring high in the skies of the aviation industry, has
fallen into an abyss of financial and image crisis.
So this is an account of our national flag carrier that used to be the nation’s
pride; it is about Pakistan International Airlines.
I still remember the time when PIA was one of the few things we could talk about
with our heads held high. We felt pride not at the condition of the age-old
planes or technology; not at the in-flight entertainment system or even the
food. It was not pride in the basic comfort and facilities provided. Rather,
this pride, was for the people working in PIA – the quality and finesse of the
pilots, the expertise and competence of the technical staff and engineers, the
knowledge and capability of the cabin crew, and of course their grace and
beauty.
My aunt was a PIA air hostess and I remember the awe she struck when she entered
the house after coming back from a flight; in her sleek uniform with that
trade-mark ‘dupatta’ on her head, looking absolutely exquisite and thoroughly
graceful. Well-educated, cultured, intelligent and service driven – these were
some of the qualities that were synonymous with the majority of PIA’s crew and
staff.My father was also part of the travel and airline industry and the
fascinating stories he told me about PIA’s performance during the mid-1960s and
early 1980s, always made me wonder. Sadly, today many of those stories might
sound unreal.