KARACHI, April 23: The decision to acquire Boeing aircraft was in the best interest of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and in no way linked with any other business activity.
This was stated by PIA chairman Ahmed Saeed at a luncheon meeting organized by the Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association (PBEA) here on Wednesday at a local hotel.
He said no one could hold PIA responsible for any damage caused to other sectors of the economy such as export of bedwear to the European Union or losing of market access for other products.
“I must say that decision to purchase Boeing 777 aircraft is most transparent and fair ever made in the history of the national airlines,” Ahmed Saeed asserted.
The PIA chairman said the he was being pushed to talk about something for which he is not responsible but would still like to clarify the situation viz-a-viz Boeing and Airbus sale of aircraft to PIA.
At the time when the national airlines decided to acquire some new aircraft, he said, PIA did not have funds even to pay towards equity. The chairman clarified that PIA initially opened negotiations for the purchase of Airbus. However, the Airbus offered left-over aircraft for whom there were no buyers.
But after the 9/11 incident, Ahmed Saeed said, there was sudden change in the political situation which raised the hope of getting some benefits and relief from the US government on Pakistan becoming a front line state against terrorism.
On the contrary the visiting official team from Islamabad, he said, was told in Washington that there would be no such thing ‘as a free lunch’ and the entire deal would be on commercial basis.
In the meantime, he said the government injected Rs32 billion as equity that improved the financial health of the national carrier and PIA began to take some serious interest in acquiring new aircraft.
During the process of negotiations, he said, the Exim Bank of US moved in and committed to financing up to 85 per cent of whatever PIA may have to pay for acquisition of aircraft from Boeing. As a result of this offer, Ahmed Saeed said, PIA in absolute terms had nothing to pay from its own resources.
Responding to a demand made by PBEA chairman Aziz Latif Jamal, the PIA chairman further said as a result of these factors the acquisition committee had decided to go for Boeing 777, which was a superior, faster aircraft and also has more cargo space.
The PIA chief disclosed that two Boeing 777 are going to be inducted by December this year, while two others in year 2006 and remaining two in 2008.
However, he says PIA which presently has 14 Airbus aircraft will be adding more this year by taking one lease Airbus A310 from a private party in Turkey, while four other Airbus aircraft will be added in the next phase.
Minister of state and chairman, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Tariq Ikram, also briefly spoke on the occasion and unfolded the future plans about achieving quantum leap in exports.
Former EPB chairman Wajid Jawad, however, suggested that all the government functionaries should always uphold national interest, and in today’s global conditions it was necessary that the economic sovereignty should be ensured by having maximum market access.
