PIA had 5 destinations in the EU prior to the ban: Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Oslo. Most probably, PIA's 777s will be back operating these flights. I think PIA should fly at least 4x weekly to all these stations and rather than operating these stations in pairs, PIA should pair up LHE and ISB and operate to all 5 stations separately, combining passengers from both the stations and also offering decent frequency for passengers based in Peshawar, Faislabad and Sialkot who all get 4x direct weekly flights:
LHE-ISB-OSL 4x Weekly
LHE-ISB-CPH 4x Weekly
LHE-ISB-BCN 4x Weekly
LHE-ISB-MXP 4x Weekly
LHE-ISB-CDG 4x Weekly
A 45-60 Minute stopover in Islamabad won't bother Lahore based passengers a lot as it would just be a refuelling stop whilst picking up the Islamabad based passengers, only way PIA can fill up it's 777s:
Not a good idea of a stop over, better to make Islamabad a hub of operations and carry passenger via A320 to Islamabad instead of stop over.
Fully loaded 777 will need to dump fuel to make such a short flight from Lhe to Isb, however it can happen from karachi but its not needed.
Also 4 weekly to five stations is too much to manage with limited number of old 777s.
Personally I think three stations are best to start operations, Paris, Milan and Barcelona.
Usman123 wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 7:24 pm
Not a good idea of a stop over, better to make Islamabad a hub of operations and carry passenger via A320 to Islamabad instead of stop over.
Fully loaded 777 will need to dump fuel to make such a short flight from Lhe to Isb, however it can happen from karachi but its not needed.
Also 4 weekly to five stations is too much to manage with limited number of old 777s.
Personally I think three stations are best to start operations, Paris, Milan and Barcelona.
A question when was PIAs last flight to EU ?
Agreed, i would argue that even ISB-LHE flight is not needed with A320. Simply offer a free transfer via a good bus from LHE to ISB and operate from there.
Once you have tasted flight, you will ever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward - Leonardo Da Vinci
Usman123 wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 7:24 pm
Not a good idea of a stop over, better to make Islamabad a hub of operations and carry passenger via A320 to Islamabad instead of stop over.
Fully loaded 777 will need to dump fuel to make such a short flight from Lhe to Isb, however it can happen from karachi but its not needed.
Also 4 weekly to five stations is too much to manage with limited number of old 777s.
Personally I think three stations are best to start operations, Paris, Milan and Barcelona.
A question when was PIAs last flight to EU ?
Agreed, i would argue that even ISB-LHE flight is not needed with A320. Simply offer a free transfer via a good bus from LHE to ISB and operate from there.
I’d much rather opt for a connecting flight with ME3. Taking a bus journey would mean reaching Lahore almost 6 hours after arrival at Islamabad. This has to be last thing one would want after a medium haul flight. Besides any station that PIA begins its operations with will be served by both cities. If I recall correctly Birmingham was the only destination that wasn’t served from Lahore. Apart from that any destination in EU/UK/USA has always been served by both.
Usman123 wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 7:24 pm
Not a good idea of a stop over, better to make Islamabad a hub of operations and carry passenger via A320 to Islamabad instead of stop over.
Fully loaded 777 will need to dump fuel to make such a short flight from Lhe to Isb, however it can happen from karachi but its not needed.
Also 4 weekly to five stations is too much to manage with limited number of old 777s.
Personally I think three stations are best to start operations, Paris, Milan and Barcelona.
A question when was PIAs last flight to EU ?
Agreed, i would argue that even ISB-LHE flight is not needed with A320. Simply offer a free transfer via a good bus from LHE to ISB and operate from there.
I’d much rather opt for a connecting flight with ME3. Taking a bus journey would mean reaching Lahore almost 6 hours after arrival at Islamabad. This has to be last thing one would want after a medium haul flight. Besides any station that PIA begins its operations with will be served by both cities. If I recall correctly Birmingham was the only destination that wasn’t served from Lahore. Apart from that any destination in EU/UK/USA has always been served by both.
If there are savings involved, compared to opting for ME3, that would still be attractive to some passengers.
Once you have tasted flight, you will ever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward - Leonardo Da Vinci
