International/The News, 8 Jan 2008.

KARACHI: The number of domestic passengers who preferred travelling in private airline Airblue has grown whereas the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is losing its popularity, data compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) revealed.

According to provisional aviation statistics for the year 2006-07, Airblue carried 1.4 million passengers in 2006-07, up around 7.7 per cent from previous year’s 1.3 million it carried between different cities of Pakistan. The PIA, faced with accumulated losses of more than Rs35 billion, lost domestic market share by 5.7 per cent as it carried five million passengers compared to 5.3 million during the period under review. “Airblue has capitalised on Aero Asia clientele,” said an industry official. “The market lost by Aero Asia in the last couple of years has been taken over by Airblue.”

After more than a decade of successful operations, Aero Asia was barred from flying by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in May last year owing to safety concerns. Aero Asia carried more than one million passengers in fiscal 2004-05 but the number shrank to 756,308 in the following year and dropped to 278,900 in 2006-07. In contrast, Airblue, which started with only 22,320 passengers in 2003-04, carried 1.4 million passengers in the last fiscal year.

“Besides, PIA has suffered from a very bad punctuality record in the last couple of years,” continued the official who requested not to be named. “This irregularity and financial woes of PIA have also worked to the advantage of Airblue.” The private carrier has also emerged as a leader in introducing innovation in the aviation industry of the country. It brought the self check-in facility at its Karachi’s hub of Jinnah International Airport whereby passengers with baggage obtain a boarding card through the touch screen menu without needing to report to the counter.

The concept of booking-first-to-get-the-lowest-fare has also contributed to advance of Airblue in gaining the market share. PIA is now following the suit and has adopted the same strategy. Airblue with its six A320 and A321 aircraft was also able to ride the tide of rising fuel cost, which bankrupted many airlines across the world.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the Chief Executive Officer and the brain behind the success of the private airline is confident that future fuel-related price shocks would be sustained. “We are in a phase of growth,” he told The News. “With aggressive revenue management and increasing the number of passengers we will make through this period.” However, he hinted that few cost elements would be passed on in fares and others would be absorbed through operation of the aircraft on profitable routes.

Around 305,370 passengers travelled by Shaheen Air International (SAI) in 2006-07 as compared to 55,670 in the previous year. On the international front, PIA carried 3.59 million passengers in 2006-07, Airblue 237,170 and SAI 198,067. Except for the flag carrier, the two domestic airlines have registered growth in previous year.