Pakistan International Airlines’ new owners plan to list the carrier within a year of taking over operations, reports Bloomberg.
The plan is to list 5-10 per cent of the carrier, said Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, chairperson at AKD Group, one of the members of the consortium that purchased a 75 per cent stake in the national flag carrier for Rs135 billion ($482 million) from the government.
PIA has survived on government bailouts for years after struggling with massive losses and high debt caused by operational inefficiencies, an aging fleet and political intervention. Dhedhi, who has a 16 per cent stake in the consortium, said that PIA aims to reclaim its market share by offering direct flights.
“There are no direct flights from Pakistan and currently passengers are taking transit flights from airlines based in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Turkey,” he said. “We will take our business back from these airlines. Passengers who can have a direct flight would never want to take a transit flight.”
The government is now focused on finding a partner to redevelop Roosevelt Hotel in New York and selling power distribution companies as part of a key condition set by the International Monetary Fund for receiving funds.
