PIA Board Approves Leasing 5 Boeing Aircrafts

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) board members have greenlit plans to lease five Boeing aircraft. This will aid the carrier's European and UK operations. A decision was made to lease two Boeing 777 planes for six months via a wet lease arrangement with Norse Atlantic, a European airline. Three additional aircraft were also approved on a dry lease basis.

With this decision, PIA management has been instructed to accelerate the procurement of spare parts for their existing fleet. Discussions on financial, operational and other matters took place during a board meeting at PIA's Islamabad headquarters. This move comes as PIA gears up to expand its London operations. The airline announced it will increase its weekly flights between Pakistan and London from seven to eight starting October 27.

This will include five weekly flights from Islamabad to London and two from Lahore to London. Currently, PIA operates four weekly flights to London. The airline claims these additional flights will improve connectivity for passengers traveling between Pakistan and the United Kingdom, especially for overseas Pakistanis. The London expansion is attributed to rising demand on the route and the return of slots at London Heathrow Airport that were previously held by foreign airlines.

The increased aircraft capacity and London flights are expected to bolster PIA's operations on its key international routes.