PIA SERVICE

In the first half of the year 1999, PIA acquired five Boeing 747-367 aircraft (initially leased from Cathay Pacific) for its European and North American destinations. In 2002 PIA signed an agreement with Boeing Company for the biggest aircraft deal in the history of PIA. After a dry spell of 10 years, PIA ordered new aircraft - 8 wide-body aircraft from the Boeing 777 family for its long-haul flights. The airline accepted delivery of its first Boeing 777-240ER aircraft at Boeing Field in Seattle, USA, on 29 January, 2004. On 2 November, 2005, PIA signed an agreement with Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) of France to purchase seven brand new ATR 42-500 turbo prop aircraft. These new 48-seater ATRs will replace PIA's ageing fleet of Fokker F-27s on airline's domestic and regional route network. On May 31, 2006, PIA received its first ATR 42-500 in Toulouse, France. The remaining six ATR 42-500s were delivered to the airline between 2006 and 2007.In August 2007, PIA signed a deal with Kuwait's Aviation Lease and Finance Company (ALAFCO) to lease seven new Airbus A320-200 aircraft. The aircraft will replace PIA's Boeing 737-300 fleet which has served the airline for more than twenty years. The deliveries of seven new Airbus A320 aircraft are expected to start in 2009 and be completed in same year.The Airbus A310, Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 are currently the mainstays of PIA's medium- and long-haul operations, with feeder, local and regional services provided by the Boeing 737-300 and ATR 42-500.Life has never been easy for PIA, as the flag carrier of a young and developing nation which has had an eventful history to date, but it is a worthy ambassador for Pakistan and its people. Its services and personnel have helped to make the country more widely known and her people better understood in a large part of the world.PIA was the first non-communist airline to operate flights to the People's Republic of China. In this rare photo from 1964 in Yawar's collection, you can see the arrival of PIA's first flight from China at Dacca Airport, East Pakistan. Yawar's grandfather Capt. Moinuddin Quraishi appears on the right side of this photo. The Chinese delegation was given warm welcome with flower garlands as seen in the photo. PIA Boeing 720B jetliner used for this flight
AP-BCE seen during a pre-delivery test flight in 1985. PIA was the first Asian operator of Boeing 737 series 300 aircraft. A total of six Boeing 737-340s were delivered to PIA between 1985 and 1986. These Boeing 737s replaced ageing Boeing 720Bs on PIA's domestic andAirport on May 1, 2001. PIA became the first Asian airline to touch down in Norway when its Airbus A310-308 landed at Oslo's Gardermoen Airport on May 1, 1999. PIA commenced two weekly flights on Karachi-Oslo sector, via Lahore and Islamabad, respectively. On the return route, the flights are routed via Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, which was PIA's first destination in Scandinavia two decades ago regional flights