CEO: Pakistan International Airlines may switch 777 order for 787s

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is in negotiations with Boeing to switch out five Boeing 777s from a 2012 order for eight 787-8s, PIA CEO Bernd Hildenbrand confirmed. “The 777s offer a bit too much capacity for our needs,” he said, adding negotiations are ongoing. “But Boeing has to confirm to us if the 787s are able to operate nonstop from Pakistan to Toronto.” PIA’s 777-200LRs currently operate more than 14 hours on nonstop flights from Karachi and Lahore to Toronto. Hildenbrand also said the Pakistan flag carrier is phasing out its last Airbus A310s. “We are looking for additional A319s and A321s to streamline load factors, but the market for these aircraft is quite empty,” he said. PIA’s domestic market share has increased from 40% to 56%. “There are 200m people living in Pakistan—a huge potential. The operations of two other Pakistani carriers are not as sustainable compared to ours.” In addition, PIA has to grow quickly to a certain size, so-called critical mass, to have a better position in the industry. “The plan is to operate about 60 aircraft in 2020; 100 aircraft by 2025,” he said. The airline currently operates 38 aircraft.<br/>