Inside the Inner Sanctum (Long)

[Moin]

Well I'm back home now after the most amazing three and a half hours of touring places where most of dream of going and seeing.

I reached the PIA head office at 3pm and there was TK's secretary waiting for me at the reception. The HO was very impressive with lots of beautiful paintings of PIA a/c of the past and I was taken to the Chairmans office waiting room where they had 2 beautiful 2 foot long models of the 777ER and LR on display which I wish were small enough to stuff down my pants but unfortunately could not as it would have been quite painful, especially with those raked wingtips! I was asked to wait there and after about 15 mins one of TK's assistants came along and told me that my pass would be waiting for me at the entrance of the engineering dept (Fokker Gate as its called) and accompanied me there.

Once there I was treated like some major VIP and apparently there was no pass made out but merely a letter from the Chairmans office stating that I was to be allowed in with no restrictions which was more than enough for the ASF. I went through the security scanner and out onto the apron and towards the 737, Fokker and 777 hangar and right in front of that posed at an angle sat BGY. I called up the Chief Engineer who's a friend of mine and he met me there. I was then led towards the hangar. Inside the hangar a ceremony was going to take place and I was taken to the front row and sat down next to one of the Boeing marketing executives. Then Mr.TK arrived to alot of applause, a prayer was recited and a rep from the engineering dept made a short speech followed by the Boeing rep and finally TK stood and spoke.

TK highlighted the characteristics of the LR and the honor of being the first airline to fly this a/c and the 45 year PIA-Boeing relationship of working together. He said that PIA were so pleased with this new a/c that in addition to the 2 LR's that were ordered in 2003, a further 2 will be ordered making a total of 4 LR's and in addition to that 5 more 777 family a/c will be joining the fleet giving PIA a total fleet of 12 B777's. So my conclusion is that in addition to the 3 ER's, 1 more ER will be coming (the leased one), then we have the 4 LR's and probably 1 more 300ER giving us a total of 4 ER's, 4 LR's and 4 300ER's. He stated that these a/c would be deployed on the JFK, YYZ and ORD routes. Then he spoke of fuel economics and that PIA wants just one thing: FUEL EFFICIENT AIRCRAFT. He said the 747's had become gas guzzlers and not very feasible and within the next 5 years, PIA plans to induct a total of 39 new a/c, which includes replacement of the 747's, A310's and 737's and with the replacement of all these a/c, PIA fleet average age will be 9 years. He pointedly said that PIA needs to get rid of these old planes and start afresh with new ones. Then he spoke of the benefit of blended winglets which got me wondering if he read the letter I sent him 6 months ago with a Boeing ad enclosed which talked about installing blended winglets on 737's. The chief engineer told me that the 737 LAP modification would begin next month and if they're going to do that, will they then add the blended winglets to the 733's?? He did say that 737-800's were on the cards so its possible that those will be inducted with blended winglets. TK then for the benefit of those who could not speak english spoke for a while in Urdu.

After the speech, everyone went to have drinks and snacks that were laid out from the PIA flight kitchen. Excellent food. I approached TK and introduced myself and had a chat with him for a few mins and thanked him for inviting me and announcing a further order of 2 LR's as having only 2 would not be enough, to which he said "Exactly, we need more than 2 of this type". Then I was introduced to the Boeing marketing executive and we had a nice chat and I told him to simply "Sell them more planes!!" He replied "Well he just announced a further 2 more LR's and four others". I asked him about the 747-800 to which he said "We're going to see how the A380 takes off and make a final decision then". I told him that it would be sad not to see a 747 in PIA's fleet to which he said "Well TK doesn't want gas guzzlers". I then told him how happy I was that PIA chose the 777 over the A340 to which he said "Those a/c are dogs, just plain crap. Even the airlines that have them don't know what to do with them and Airbus is now paying airlines to buy them".

After that I rejoined the chief engineer and his group an they told the guy who was accompanying me that they'll take care of me now. We waited till TK and the Boeing group toured the a/c and we followed quickly before they removed the stairs and removed the a/c. We boarded through L1 and everyone inside was in socks as they didn't want to stain the carpet but plastic sheets were placed along the walkways. I went into the cockpit which was identical to the ER save for a few minor avionics. Pilots on the ER require a 3 day conversion course for the LR and I was explained the various gizmos and which did what and so on. They also told me that the LR was slightly, very slightly longer in length to the ER. Then I went up to see the bunk beds which were tucked in a very cosy niche just up and behind galley 1 which also featured 2 grey seats in addition to the beds. Business class was the same as the ER and the Eco+ and Eco had the same seats albeit with about an inch or two more leg room. 6 more bunk beds were at the rear of the a/c and the total pax capacity was 310.

We exited the a/c through L4 and we went to see the landing gear. Now these engineers told me that they were now going to have to inventory and seperate parts for the ER and LR as the engine and landing gear components were not interchageable and there was a fear of accidentally putting an ER part onto the LR. The engine thrust was 110,000 lbs as compared to 94,000 lbs of the ER and no parts can be used on the one or the other. There was a photgrapher present and he took pics of me under the a/c with the landing gear, nose wheel and under the a/c with the AB4 graveyard in the background. When I get the copies, I'll send them to Abbas. From the cargo hold, 3 pallets containing the new galley meal trolleys were unloaded and the a/c was hooked up to the tow truck and pushed back and pulled back towards the hangar nose in.

They then wanted to take me to the wide body hangar so I decided we'll walk it. There were 3 Air Universal 747's there including the one with the PIA flag on the tail, 2 A310's and 3 Fokkers about to be scrapped. We entered the Isfahani Hangar which housed an MNG AB4 which was ex-PIA now owned by MNG and leased to SV which was undergoing line maintenance, AP-BFV also undergoing line maintenance and of course AP-BAK with the tail painted in the new colors. I held my breath as we approached it and when it came into view I yawned! Its WEIRD! The fuselage is the same, the tail, all white with this light/dark blue Multani flower pattern which started at the bottom of the tail going up, then there was a gap which was all white and the Urdu PIA logo in the middle and again the flower pattern continuing to the top of the tail. A complete clash with the current livery and total mismatch. My hunch was right, when I saw it my first reaction was "Is that all?" The guy accompanying me also chimed in "I can't make head or tail what they're doing". I looked that the flowchart and the a/c should be rolled out on the 10th of March for its test flight and unveiled on the 23rd of March. Sorry guys, I'm dissapointed. I never thought I'd say this but I preferred the flag! If this is one theme God knows what the other provincial theme will be like. I don't think it was a good idea invoking provincial themes on a National Airline. They should have just stuck to one theme invoking the whole nation. Big mistake if you ask me. I walked away shaking my head. I'm hoping, just hoping that this is merely an experiment which they decided to do on an old a/c (BAK has 83,600 hours on it) and if it fails, they won't do any others.

Then I proceeded to examine BFV which was having its tires changed. I managed to get grease on my shirt sleeve but I just about got into the wheel well which was the size of a small room. The engineer told me that they are so rushed in their work that they are given just 5 days to work on an a/c and then immediately hand it back for service. The MNG AB4 leased to SV has been given 25 days before handover. He said that orders come that an a/c has to be thoroughly checked and handed back within 5 days and that its very difficult for them to meet the deadline. The wings of BFV were filthy with grease and he told me that its all going to be cleaned by hand before being put back into service and some of the tires replaced or retreaded. He then pointed towards the RB211 engines of BFV and commented "Worst engines to ever work on. Absolute nightmare. When PIA got these a/c both CX and PIA were jumping for joy. CX for having found a sucker to take them off their hands and PIA for having gotten a bargain, oblivious to having become those suckers".

We then walked across to the AB4 graveyard where there were 5 AB4's. One in full MNG colors and registration and covered in dust, AP-BAZ in the old PIA colors but merely a hollow shell with wings and no engines scrapped by PIA, AP-BEL also w/o engines and flaps, AP-BBV w/o engines and flaps and AP-BAY w/o landing gear, engines and flaps. Out of 6, the 5 AB4's including the SV leased one are now owned by MNG and the a/c are being cannibalised for parts by MNG and sold off in the parts market. BEL, BBV and BEY were in the new colors. The only a/c MNG appears to be flying are the one in SV colors and its own colors, the ones in the new PIA colors they bought for spares. There were also 3 Aero Asia Rombac 1-11's there with flat tires and covered in dust. No one has a clue what they plan to do with them. AP-BCO is no longer around sadly. All I saw of it was a chunk of the belly and the two main landing gears, the rest all gone. There was also an MNG AB4F parked in a corner and a PIA 777ER and an MNG 734. I asked my friend why did PIA bother to paint BIC with the PIA flag and he said there was an issue of Hajj pax refusing to board the a/c when they saw it was not in PIA colors. They claimed that they had bought PIA tickets and expected to fly PIA and made a big fuss over it many times. Go figure!

By this time I felt I had seen enough so we went back to the engineering offices and sat there for a while where I was told that I would be presented with an RB211 fan blade which will be mounted on a stand and given to me later. They then griped about being overworked and underpaid and in front of me one guy came to say goodbye to them as he was leaving to work for EK and they also told me of the stampede that took place when Qatar announced it was looking for people to hire. They said people are disheartened and waiting for the chance to bail out. It was 6.30 by this time and as my friends were going off duty, we left together.

BTW I was told that BGY will either be operating to LHE or ISB tomorrow on a domestic sector before the flight to YYZ, that is if its documentation and papers come through in time.

I also just spoke to my steward friend who completed the flight from MAN to ISB to KHI. He said the flight was full from MAN to ISB and at ISB 90% of the pax got off with only about 50 pax in Y, none in Eco+ and 9 in Business to KHI. At ISB, AJ TV and Geo covered the arrival. Only 3 PIA directors boarded at ISB for KHI. He said all pax were presented with souvenirs of a glass shield marking the first flight and a pen. Boeing also provided the most amazing fleece blankets for all seats but he predicts they'll get swiped and replaced by PIA's standard ones. There were also about 4 to 5 cologne selections in the toilets courtesy Boeing. He's dreading operating the LR flights as he's heard that there will not be any backup crew for the long haul sectors and all they'll get would be an extra allowance and to stick it out for the entire duration of the flight.

And now my fingers are swollen but if I recall anything more I'll post it here. I may get a chance to go again as these friends of mine told me that if I can manage to get myself a pass, I can come and see them there anytime and getting this pass was not a problem, so lets see how it goes.

It was a wonderful experience and something I hope to do again.

[Abbas Ali]

Really enjoyed reading it. Thank you Moin for sharing info.

Abbas

[AP-BGL]

Moin, It was such a pleasure reading all that! One thing that made me astonished is the new Tail design, why didn't you ask them to have views of the people regarding the new tail/aircraft paint scheme?

Another thing... Why is PIA comparing an A380 with a 747-800? And if A380 proves to be good in fuel and other things, Can we see A380 for PIA in future?

[Aer Pakistan]

cool moin thx for information.

[mohammed younis]

Very interesting....

We now have an idea of the new tail

possibilities between a380 or 747-800 ... im so excited

[CoyBoy]

I'm astonished to hear about the tail design, maybe he should have asked his wife on what to do since shes quite fashionably chic(read 'sheek' and not chick).

It woudl have been better if they had reverted to the original new scheme or pasted Pashmina in dark green with a lighter corresponding shade, this way the Urdu logo could have gone the lighter shade of green too.

Even these would be so much better could also be done in Pashmina with above description

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifiedairl ... d=00002752

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifiedairl ... d=00006538

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a40/techsavy/pk3.jpg

[SaadSaeed]

Interesting and very informative log. What color was the tail? Real flowers or floral pattern? Could be like pashmina which many here wish to make a comeback.

Ive heard many times that PIA is overstaffed. Then how come the engies are complaining of being overworked and understaffed? They seem low on moral. If anything i would have thought there are too many people in PIA already.

[malpensa26]

hi thanks for the report. maybe if u have time Moin u can give us a better idea buy using paint shop on the LR photos and we can get better visual idea. i think anything would be bettter than the current flag design

[Moin]

These wern't actual flowers, they were a mix of a light and dark blue multani floral tile pattern.

Now couple that with a tail having a white background and a fuselage that is beige and white with a dark green stripe (the current colors). What was really weird was the white gap on the upper part of the tail with the dark green PIA Urdu logo, or maybe it was dark blue. It was too high up. My friend wanted to take me up the flight of stairs leading to the top of the tail but I was in no mood to go up there. I had seen enough!

How can I describe it to you? Ok, take the current RJ tail. You know the stripe of red thats on top of the tail above the crown? Put that stripe a little lower, say about three quarters of the height of the tail from the bottom up. That part is all white with the Urdu logo painted in the center. Or picture this: These light/dark blue floral tile patterns starting at the bottom of a white tail and going up. The pattern continues up beyond half the length of the tail, then when you've covered three quarters the height of the tail and suddenly its all white with the Urdu PIA logo. Then you continue up and the floral pattern resumes. You know how on some of our a/c the flag is dead center of the tail like it should be, but on some A310's its very close to the top? Thats where this white patch is, near the top. At least this is how it looked to me. There were ladders and walkways everywhere around the tail and the fuselage was covered in clear plastic tarpauline. I didn't go towards the front of the a/c and was basically standing under R5 near the rear cargo doors, but what I saw today was enough to tell me that if this is going to be the design with the current color scheme on the fuselage, its a total mismatch. The bottom half of the tail was crystal clear, enough to give me an idea. I asked them if they're planning on painting just the tail or the whole a/c but they didn't know that. The complete blueprints of the livery were in the paint shop which had closed.

Like I said before, I hope this is just an experiment they've decided to carry out on BAK as it was due for line maintenance anyway. It could be that management will have a look at it on the 10th of March, when it rolls out and goes for its test flight and decide it wasn't such a good idea. I hope they do before showing THIS to everyone on the 23rd!! I was tempted to ask the Boeing rep what he thought of the current tail scheme but was a bit embarrassed. Little did I know what was to be bestowed upon me!

I have an idea though. I'll call up the Chief Engineer as he'll be conducting the take off go around (TOGA) test flight and ask him the exact date and time of departure and I'll go out there and see it take off and land. At least that way, I'll be able to see the uninterrupted version without the obstruction of ladders and walkways. And don't ask me to request him to do a low fly past, because he just might!

Anyhow, theres no need to be sitting at the edges of your seats now. Wait it out. I saw it first hand and was dissapointed. Maybe the other provincial themes might be better, but having an eye of color and art, I find this overall concept difficult to mate with the current fuselage colors. Mixing ancient art with modern design. It didn't work with BA, it won't here either, but strange things have been known to happen. Some people may actually like it.

Were Nasirs designs not looked at??? I feel like doing something else now. I feel like taking all of Nasirs designs and showing them to these engineers and asking their opinions and further asking them to show them to the paint shop, getting them all to take a vote on the best scheme and to forward it to the HO as a suggestion. I'm beginning to think that Nasirs designs did not reach TK's desk and were not looked at. This is beginning to look like a "Desperate times call for desperate measures" situation.

[SalamPaks]

Hmm, good report. Sounds like you had a great laugh right up until you saw the new tail.

[Moin]

U got that right! Kind of put a damper on the delight of seeing our new 777.

[Adnaan786]

Looking forward to the pictures Moin.

Btw if the PIA engineers are feeling over-worked then I sincerely recommend they talk to their manager or directly to PIA's safety officer. They don't have to talk to the SO directly, they can submit a report confidentially.

I'm sure they know about this, but they're probably reluctant to this. However, let me make it clear that in no way will it/can it effect their position in the company. They are protected by International Aviation Law in such circumstances.

[Moin]

If these guys were Europeans or French for example, there would be strikes galore.

Without prejudice, I admire the fact that they (the ones who take these things apart and put them back together again) may not be getting the VIP treatment and perks that is uptil now enjoyed by the flight crew (the ones who simply fly the a/c from A to B) but they still come to work every day and are on call 24/7 without overtime allowance, whereas if a member of the flight crew has to spend an extra hour flying the plane or on duty, he makes sure he's compensated for it.

[SENIOR]

I think I've got an idea of what Moin's talking about ! if it looks anything like the B777-200lr tail pin I've got from those lovely Boeing people at MAN then I think we are in for a short sharp shock

I can't imagine that tiny little thing magnified 100times flying through the sky

[flyingsystem]

Nice article. Can you give a drawing of the tail in question? It will give an idea of this thing...................Thanks for the post.