November 3, 2001	Saturday	Shaba’an 16, 1422

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NEW YORK, Nov 2: Pakistan International Airlines has asked its North American headquarters in New York to trim its staff by 70 per cent in view of the bad financial health of the airline, according to sources here.

The airline has already replaced its general manager North Americas, Zahid Afridi with a head office-based general manager, Salahuddin, to implement the reforms stipulated by the organization. Afridi was posted here 10 months back.

PIA officials here credit Afridi with saving the airline hundreds of thousands of dollars by moving the PIA headquarters in New York from the high premium location on Fifth Avenue to a smaller location on Eighth Avenue a month ago.

As PIA plans to reduce its staff, the North American business for the airline has taken a turn for the better. Since last month many foreign carriers like British Airways and Kuwait Airways stopped operating to Pakistan due to the US war in Afghanistan and uneasy conditions in Pakistan.

At present PIA operates four flights weekly from New York as against six flights until a year ago.

PIA officials here say that the airline needs to add two more flights to meet the huge demand during the Ramazan and Eid season when expatriates generally travel to Pakistan.

Many PIA employees say that cutting staff by 70 per cent is too drastic a measure which could adversely affect the airline’s operations. Nevertheless, many agree that in view of PIA’s dire financial situation some cost-cutting measures were needed.

Another measure which could save PIA big bucks is to allow the general manger to move into the house owned by the airline in the upscale suburb of New York after it remained empty for over a year, which resulted in losses up to $100,000 in taxes and other upkeep expenses.

PIA’s present general manager finance, had advised the head office to sell the house which could fetch the airline a million dollars.

However, the sale never materialized and the house remained unoccupied for a year.

Recently, PIA authorities reversed the decision to sell the house and asked the general manager to reclaim the house.