The Uncomfortable Truth: Workforce & CASK
PIA cannot survive with its current cost base.
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CASK (Cost per Available Seat Kilometer) is uncompetitive
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Overstaffing is real (500 to 1 aircraft whereas international average is 16 staff one aircraft)
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Unions will resist
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Layoffs are likely—but not overnight
The state failed PIA by avoiding hard decisions for decades. Privatization merely forces reality to surface.
Will Tickets Become More Expensive?
Short term: Yes, possibly
Long term: Not necessarily
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Current pricing already distorted by taxes
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Efficient operations reduce per-seat cost
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Better load factors matter more than cheap fares
Air travel in Pakistan isn’t expensive because of privatization—it’s expensive because of policy and taxation.
Market Impact: Stocks & Sentiment
PSX Context
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KSE-100 recently crossed 170,000
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Reform momentum driving sentiment
Likely Movers
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Lucky Cement (LUCK) → Most sensitive to outcome
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Arif Habib Corp (AHCL) → Secondary impact
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Airblue → Private, no stock
A successful bid strengthens confidence not just in aviation—but in SOE reform as a whole.
PMI, Laksons & “Buying Pakistan”
Lakson Group’s historical sale of tobacco assets to Philip Morris International (PMI) is unrelated to PIA—but it raises a broader point:
When Pakistani capital sits abroad—in hotels, shares, or multinationals—it often acts as soft lobbying power, not betrayal.
Owning assets abroad ≠ abandoning Pakistan
Sometimes, it’s how influence is bought.
