'PIAC suffers Rs 11.69 billion loss in first three quarters of 2010'

Minister for Defence Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar has said that Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) suffered a total loss of Rs 67.31 billion till third quarter of last year after the deduction of taxes. During question-hour session of the National Assembly on Thursday, the minister told the House that the PIAC suffered a loss of Rs 11.69 billion in the first three quarters of 2010, against the total loss of Rs 5.82 billion in the year 2009.
He said that the corporation had suffered loss of Rs 12.76 billion, Rs 13.40 billion and Rs 36.14 billion in the years 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. He said that the board and the management with full support of the government and other stakeholders are confident to get the entity out of the current high loss situation by bringing about sustainable improvements in near future. However, PIA has finalised and submitted the business plan, which is strategic road map for next five years.
Replying to another question, the minister informed the House that Pakistan Aeronautical Authority had negotiated a total of 13 Air Services Agreements (ASAs) with various countries during the last five years. "OUT of the agreements, four ASAs have been signed, whereas nine have been initiated. The initiated ASAs would be signed once both the sides complete respective legal formalities and processes," he said.
He also said that national airline was only operating to 27 countries out of more than 250 around the globe. He said that the reason for not operating to other countries is that it is not economically viable. He said that the airline operates to any destination where it finds the deployment of its limited fleet is beneficial to the carrier. Answering to another supplementary question, the minister said that the Director General of ASF was supervising an inquiry being conducted over the incident in which a boy fell on rooftop of a house in Lahore some days back from a plane.