KARACHI, Sept 28: There is plenty of scope for an extended and strengthened relationship between the Gulf Air and PIA and the two concerns may avail mutually beneficial economic and commercial opportunities.

This was stated by President and CEO of the Gulf Air Mr James Hogan at a briefing to newsmen at a local hotel on Saturday evening. The airline’s vice-president Saeed Farid Al-Alwi, country manager Jawad Abdul Ghani as well as the CEO of Marhaba Aviations, Maqsood Latifi, were also present on the occasion.

Mr Hogan, on his first visit to Pakistan, was in Islamabad on Friday where he called on Acting President Muhammadmian Soomro, Defence Minister Rao Sikandar and the Joint Secretary, Aviation, Qamar Zaman, to discuss prospects of joint working in areas of mutual interest.

He said that future strategy of the Gulf Air included a three-year plan to incorporate brand development, fleet consolidation and expansion, wider network, alliances and customer service, in addition to work out profitability and improvement in cost structures.

In reply to a question, he said that during his meetings with the deputy director general of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Chairman of PIA, Ahmed Saeed, views were exchanged on traffic rights, possibility of future partnership, mutually beneficial alliances, and pooling of resources for global distribution.

He said that the Gulf Air had been operating in Karachi for over 30 years. At present, the airline is operating 25 flights a week from Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar through its GSA, Marhaba Aviations, which has 10 offices in different parts of the country.

Mr Hogan observed the air travel, despite the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, had remained safe due to strict security measures. Gulf Air never compromises on safety of its crew and passengers, he added.