Few days old news item:
By Haris Zamir and Khalid Qayum
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Safe International Airways Co., a Pakistan-based carrier which seeks to resume domestic flights next month, is in talks with Airbus SAS to lease 10 planes for its proposed overseas routes next year.
"The talks with Airbus are going on'' for leasing six Airbus 321-200 and four Airbus 310-300, said Junaid Makhdomi, chief executive at the Karachi-based airline in a Jan. 18 interview, without giving details. The carrier, which stopped operations in 2000 due to losses, are now backed by investors in U.K. and Pakistan, Makhdomi said. He didn't elaborate.
Safe International, which has already invested a total of $300 million, plans to start full-service domestic flights next month with four leased Boeing Co. 737-200 planes, Makhdomi said. Safe International will compete with four other Pakistani carriers including Pakistan International Airlines Corp., Aero Asia, Air Blue Ltd. and Shaheen Services. It seeks to gain a foothold in Pakistan, a nation of 160 million people, with an economy that expanded 8.4 percent in the year ended June 30, the fastest pace in two decades.
Air Traffic
Air passenger traffic on Pakistan's domestic routes has risen by 20 percent in the last two years, said Makhdomi, who expects the momentum to continue as businesses grow in line with Pakistan's economy. Growth in Pakistan's more than $100 billion economy is estimated at about 7 percent in the fiscal year to June 30.
"We have received the permission from the Civil Aviation Authority to start domestic air services from next month,''
Makhdomi said. The government's Civil Aviation Authority regulates Pakistan's aviation industry. Safe International plans to start services to Pakistan's biggest cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad, he said. In 2007, the airline plans to begin flights overseas including Oslo and Copenhagen in Europe and Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Manila in Southeast Asia, Makhdomi said. Pakistan International, the nation's biggest state-run carrier, is revamping its fleet to expand business and compete with rivals. The company has received three of the eight Boeing aircraft it plans to buy by 2008 for $1.5 billion.
Source: Safe Air
Safe Air plans to lease 10 Airbus planes
Read the article carefully. The last two sentences state that PIA has recieved three of the eight Boieing aircraft it intends to have, by 2008, i.e. the 8 777s they ordered. The article is from Bloomberg, so its not as if these journalists are running a rag tag newspaper!Kashif wrote:"he company has received three of the eight Boeing aircraft it plans to buy by 2008 for $1.5 billion."
ehm. $1.5 Billion for 8 737-200?
The journalists must be kicked hard on their bottoms
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