'PIA turnaround possible if government follows proposed strategies'

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) can be turned around in 2011 provided the government follows the innovative strategies which have been developed by a veteran PIA marketing specialist. This would also resolve the current fiasco of joint venture agreement with Turkish Airlines.
The innovator, PIA's former Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Khurshid Anwar told Business Recorder here on Saturday that copies of the proposals have been sent to the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), The proposals explain an innovative roadmap for a turnaround, which require dovetailing government's aviation policy and PIA's marketing strategy.
He claimed that he was instrumental in turning around the airline thrice--in 1981, 1992 and 2002. During his tenure as head of marketing he had kept the airline profitable for 17 years.
These strategies, he claims, have been evolved over a period of 30 years in his dealing with the subject of open sky, 6th freedom traffic and emergence of hubs in the Gulf countries and are his intellectual property.
He said that implementation of his vision would ensure long-term viability of PIA and private airline as it would enunciate policy framework and roadmap for future operation of foreign carriers, particularly the Gulf countries airlines, which control a very large share of the market to Europe and Americas through their respective 'Hubs'.
He said that the proposed strategy would remove the stumbling block of dichotomy of views among PIA, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and MoD, which has been the main cause of serious mistakes in the grant of traffic rights and abandoning of operation by airlines from UK and EU countries.
The cornerstone of this strategy is that this would not require re-negotiations of air services' agreement with any other country, and re-framed strategy could be implemented immediately, thus enabling the Pakistani airlines to improve their market share and create conditions for the Western countries to start thinking of resuming their operation to Pakistan, san security situation.
Another salient feature of this innovative strategy would be that it would be based on the concept of open-sky and yet be able to control 6th freedom carriage, control illegal human smuggling through airports, and result in foreign exchange savings, 'all in one package'.
Khurshid said that this strategy, being non-discriminatory, would counter arguments for preferential treatment to the national airline. In the event that this innovative and creative strategy is successfully implemented in Pakistan, it would pave the way for other airlines which are facing the dilemma of 6th freedom carriage, to/from their countries and bring about new thinking in exchange of traffic rights.
The Gulf carriers are in the process of ordering more aircraft to expand their network around the world, but some countries have started feeling the heat and are refusing to let them increase the air flight. Recent examples are Canada, Germany and France.
One of the Gulf airlines which is pursuing its fleet expansion aggressively is pressuring EU countries for preferential treatment in the grant of traffic rights since it is the biggest buyer of Airbus aircraft.
The crux of the problem is the creation of 'Hubs' in the one-city sheikhdom of Gulf where their airlines carry traffic from their net work and re-distribute the passengers to connecting flights and deprive many airlines of their long-haul market share such as between Europe and Australia, Far East and Europe and subcontinent and UK and EU countries, thus depriving their national airlines of their genuine market share.