AP-BCL gone from Lahore

[Moin]

I hope the above post by Cheetah can put to an end FK's constant tirade about what money makers these 2 a/c could have been for PIA if they just maintained them well.

Why some people are hell bent on seeing 70's vintage a/c in PIA is beyond me.

Maintaining such a/c costs money, a hell of ALOT of money, and to put it simply, retaining them in the fleet was simply not feasible.

[F.K]

ayw was given airworthiness certification by american authorities only and i guess its still flying for evergreen so are a tonn of other 70s planes that help reduce the need for huge investements or delay them till revenue streams justify so. a few retired pilots are contemplating joining a charter airline in florida where job openings for tristars and 727s are present but i guess florida is one state in the us territory that isnt first world material.
ayw and bcl hardly ever few, except on hajj and umra schedules making up 5 to 6 months every year and their performance as reported by the crew that flew them was that they were better then the 743s . retaining these two 747s in the fleet in my opinion waas more fesible then the purchase of 6 310s that fly on non profitable break even routes and as predicted they have proven to be big fiascoes as hajj operators due to luggage and seat constraints.

[cheetah]

i remember flying on BCL in august 2004. The aircraft made loud creaky noises on taxi. I am not an expert but that does give the corrosion issue some validity.

As far as good performance is concerned, you have to keep in mind that their is considerable maintenance involved to keep it at that standard which only keeps on increasing with age. Also JT9D is the oldest heaviest powerplant consuming the most fuel.

[Abbas Ali]

ayw was given airworthiness certification by american authorities only and i guess its still flying for evergreen....

Air worthiness certificate to Evergreen's N559EV (ex AP-AYW of PIA) was issued by FAA for month only. The certificate expired on October 19, 2005 and was not renewed. The aircraft (N559EV) is longer on US aircraft register and most probably will be broken up to provide spare parts for other Boeing 747s flown by Evergreen.

[CoyBoy]

Once I was at KHI airport and there was a loud explosion noise, tured out to be from the APU of a PIA 742 it was followed by a thick cloud of black smoke emitted, I wonderif the passengers felt anything inside, the aircrfat had just landed from somewhere and was taxining to the gate.

[AP-BGL]

i remember flying on BCL in august 2004. The aircraft made loud creaky noises on taxi. I am not an expert but that does give the corrosion issue some validity.

My Dad had the same comments after flying AYW on a Hajj flight last year.

[F.K]

pia should purchase a few 742s or dedicate 2 743s for pure middle east operations. plenty of half used 747s with hours up to 40000-50000 are available at really low prices which are nearly the same as its hajj lease rental for 3 months.