Pakistan International Airlines announced today that its cabin‑crew wardrobe has been handed over to fashion house HSY. The official X post reads, “The wait is over. Introducing PIA’s new uniform, designed by Hassan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY).” The image that accompanied the tweet shows a dark‑green, high‑collar jacket with a gold‑toned crest – a look that is undeniably sleek, but also instantly raises the question: does a new suit fix a carrier that has been losing money, missing flights and disappointing passengers for years?
Style over substance?
For the average Pakistani who books a PIA ticket, the uniform on the screen matters far less than the seatbelt that actually works. The airline’s balance sheet has been in the red for a decade, its fleet is a patchwork of aging Boeing‑737s and a few 787s, and service scores on independent platforms hover around the middle of the pack. Yet the government chose to splash a designer label on its most visible frontline staff. The move reads like a publicity stunt: a fresh visual identity for a brand that is supposed to be the country’s international calling card.
What the uniform actually looks like
Visual evidence from the airline’s post confirms the colour and cut: a structured, dark‑green jacket with a mandarin collar, a matching trouser for men, and a long tunic with a hijab for women. The gold‑embossed crest bears the letters “HSAN,” a nod to the designer’s initials. No HSY logo appears on the fabric, meaning the brand equity rests entirely on the public’s recognition of the name, not on any badge sewn into the seam.
