KARACHI, March 13: The managing director of the Pakistan International Airlines, Ahmad Saeed, has appreciated the personal contribution made by PIA chief operating officer Khurshid Anwar towards the turnaround of the national flag carrier in the last 12 months.

In a letter to Mr Anwar, Mr Saeed said: “At time of my taking over PIA in April 2001, the government was seriously considering the option of closing down PIA as it had lost Rs5.14 billion in 2000 and in May 2001 and its losses were running in excess of Rs20 million per day.”

He said that looking back at the results of the last nine months, “you have performed a task that looked unattainable at that time. After achieving a profit of Rs300 million in July- December 2001, expected profit of over Rs1 billion in January- March 2002 is indicative of sustainability and also restructuring undertaken by you so painstakingly. You achieved this despite a worldwide turmoil in the aviation industry which has seen many a well-reputed and established airline collapse”.

He said that not only had financial turnaround been achieved but also serious shortcomings and irregularities in operational and customer services identified. “Your professional guidance in improving PIA’s revenues, market share, reduction of cost, plugging gross misuse of reservation setup, global distribution system and irregularities of unscrupulous travel agents who had caused heavy financial losses to the airline are reflection of your professional acumen which in coming months will result in improvement of product.”—PPI