1949 - Pakistan Government Invites Orient Airways and Pak Air to Join National Airways Corpo­ration

[Abbas Ali]

DAWN newspaper report from August 1949:

From The Past Pages Of Dawn: 1949: Seventy-five years ago: New airways


Orient Airways Douglas C-47/DC-3

KARACHI: A National Airways Corpo­ration linking most of the towns in East and West Pakistan with regular air services will start operating shortly. The Government of Pakistan have decided to subscribe 51 per cent shares towards the corporation’s capital, it is authoritatively learnt. The Pak Air and the Orient Airways, the two existing Pakis­tani airlines, will be allowed to join the National Corporation. Their assets too will be assessed by an independent surveyor and will be bought over by the new corporation. The corporation will have the monopoly of civil aviation in Pakistan and no private airlines will be allowed to operate in the country after the establishment of the National Corporation. Besides the national network, the Corporation will also operate international services. The Ministry of Defence have been asked to work out the details of the scheme.


Pak Air Douglas C-47/DC-3

Source: DAWN

[Abbas Ali]

In 1951, Government of Pakistan established Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and on May 25, 1951, placed order for three Lockheed L-1049C Super Constellation four-engine airliner as the new operator's initial equipment. PIA flew its first service with the Super Constellation on June 7, 1954, on the route linking Karachi with Dacca (now Dhaka). On February 1, 1955, PIA flew its first international service, between Karachi and London via Cairo.


PIA Lockheed L-1049C Super Constellation

On March 11, 1955, PIA formally took over assets and routes of another Pakistani operator, Orient Airways, which had in effect been part of PIA since October 1953.

Abbas