KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines has acquired five French-built ATR-72 aircraft, each with a capacity of 66 seats, on dry lease for a period of eight years.
PIA spokesman here on Saturday said this on arrival of the first of the 5 ATR-72 aircraft at Jinnah International Airport on April 11.
The remaining four ATRs will join the PIA fleet by the end of May, 2015. With the induction of the aircraft, the total number of ATR aircraft in the PIA fleet will rise to 11, he added.
The airline is in process of undertaking a revival plan and is inducting latest, state-of-the-art aircraft to its fleet. The fuel efficient aircraft will greatly benefit PIA in terms of fuel efficiency and savings.
Chairman PIA, Nasser NS Jaffer inspected the ATR-72 aircraft on its arrival at Jinnah International Airport. The Managing Director of PIA, Shah Nawaz Rehman and other senior officials were also present on the occasion.
Nasser NS Jaffer, sharing his views on the induction of the ATR aircraft, said that PIA would now be in a better position to offer more flights. He said that the fuel efficient ATR aircraft were planned for deployment on domestic/feeder routes as well as some international short-haul sectors.
He instructed the concerned officers to speed up the necessary formalities so that the aircraft could be deployed for operation without any delay.
The PIA Chairman thanked Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Aviation, Shujaat Azeem, for their cooperation regarding the induction of the aircraft in the PIA fleet.
According to the PIA spokesman, the ATR has a capacity of 70 seats and will be operated with an all-economy class configuration.
With increase in the number of aircraft in the PIA fleet, the airline will be in a position to offer additional flights and also increase flight frequency on existing profitable routes.
