RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Internatio­nal Airlines (PIA) has added two more aircraft to its operational fleet — one newly inducted Airbus A320 and the other Boeing 777, which was grounded for seven months.

The airline expects that the induction of both aircraft into flying duties would help reduce pressure on its overstretched fleet and pave the way for the much-needed network expansion.

The Airbus A320 operated its first commercial flight as PK309 from Islam­abad to Karachi on Tuesday, whereas Boeing 777 operated its first flight after several months on Wednesday and departed for Jeddah as PK300.

A PIA spokesperson said on Wednesday that the government was actively working towards the growth and development of the national flag carrier despite economic challenges.

He said the airline had brought back two Boeing 777s from long grounding and was in the final stages of restoring the third and last Boeing 777 to operational duties, taking the number to 26 operational planes, including 10 Boeing 777s, and 14 Airbus A320s.

PIA also planned to increase its fleet with the induction of four to five mid-tier, wide-body aircraft this year, he said.

The increase in the number of planes was necessary for PIA’s business objectives of network expansion and consolidation on productive routes, especially Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, China and the Far East, the spokesperson said.

The aviation sector, he said, was making a comeback and it would achieve the pre-Covid level much sooner than anticipated and in order to exploit the demand in the fast-changing dynamics of the industry, fleet planning would be a game changer.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2023