ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will start acquiring new aircraft this year to provide better services to its customers.

According to official sources, under a phased programme, 30 new aircraft will be included in the fleet raising the strength to 70 with improved and younger look.

Initially, the planes under the plan, which is scheduled to be completed by 2020, will be acquired on a five-year lease. .

The government has already approved the plan and the PIA is presently engaged in working out its modalities.

Idea behind induction of new planes in the fleet is to turn the PIA into a profitable organization with focus on cost cutting measures and not    compromising quality, the sources added.

This procurement will be made through financial institutions without any budgetary allocations or special government funds and directly from the manufacturers of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, they said.

The sources said priority would be to acquire modern, fuel efficient and operationally cost effective planes.

The PIA is currently maintaining its domestic and international flights' schedule with a fleet of 34 aircraft while five are under scheduled maintenance after completing their required number of flying hours.

The operational fleet consists of nine Boeing 777, four Boeing 737, nine Airbus 310 and six ATRs while six Boeing 747s are mostly used for Hajj, Umrah and chartered operations.

Besides, the Boeing 747s are also used for supplementing the scheduled flights in replacement, if an aircraft is taken out of the operation for some correction or maintenance.