Daily Times

Define disaster? If we are talking about a travel experience, I can explain the whole concept in one word: PIA (Pakistan International Airlines). From the time of boarding to the time of dislodging, you wonder if you made the right choice to travel through one of the world worst airlines.

A few years ago, when Mian Nawaz Sharif won the last elections, many of us thought the worst days of the country were gone. An era of a series of institutional reforms including PIA would commence soon, the process of privatisation be expedited, the financial losses contained, and the budgetary deficits reduced. However, three and a half years down the road it seems as though the organisations which were going down have just picked up more speed, with their dependence on public funds escalating and efficiency diminishing. Ergo, the claims to overhaul the PIA that the Prime Minister once made before he took office will be repeated during the next election campaign only, with more vigour and more conviction.

Maybe the problem is not limited to him or the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), as much indeed it lies with us — ‘the optimists’ more, who after every change believe the new government will take radical steps to eradicate the core problems of every public organisation. Living in a fool’s paradise, we do not realise that the incoming groups of people, whether they come through fair and free elections or a coup d’etat, are the ones who have created the very problems that we now hope them to fix an unrealistic and impossible task.

At best what they would do is to change the top administrators placing their favourites at the highest positions securing total control of the organisation, doing some patch work in the name of restructuring — an undertaking conducted so badly that it adds more problems than to solve any. The story of PIA tells us the same tale: two problems are shoved under the rug to add ten more. And to be clear, I am not talking about the plane crash that shook the whole nation earlier this month; I am talking about the gross mismanagement that you encounter while travelling abroad.

Can you imagine an International flight of more than ten hours without an entertainment system? And the reading lights are attached to the entertainment remote, with those being out of order as well. Or a plane carrying more than three hundred passengers with two or more of its restrooms out of six closed down, rendering the travellers no choice except to suffer or wait in the line for 15 minutes every time they have to use the sink. I guess PIA expects a four years old to peer at the front monitor displaying the weather and count down left during the whole flight: 13 hours remaining; 12 hours fifty-nine minutes remaining; 12 hours 58 minutes and so on.

Notoriously kids have to run to the bathroom much more often than adults if they are bored. The two strategies that work to divert their attention in the plane are either to provide them with puzzles, the word games or by keeping them busy with Superhero movies hoping that after a meal and show they will fall asleep. If the airline does not have the ability to take care of either of these diversions, the plane becomes a torture chamber for both the parents and the children. The only difference I can think of now is the absence of waterboarding to extract the ‘truth’ out of the locked subjects. By the way, I do believe that even a hardcore terrorist will regurgitate the top secrets of his group if he travelled through our national airlines for more than five hours.

How is the condition of the cabins? Stinky and worn off. Hard, padless seats, their covers stained with brownish grey blobs, edges frayed can enfeeble for any human being to lose hope in the prospects of life in just a few minutes. The carpets stood unclean and dirty; the front pockets lay unkempt.

Despite all these issues, why do people still travel in PIA then? Unconditional patriotism could be one, but I doubt it as I have seen people who are ready to give up their lives for the country do not give up a single penny for it. Secondly, the direct flight from North America can play a role since it can save up to ten hours of flight and airport time in the Middle East if one travelled through Etihad, Emirates or Kuwait Airlines. But more than that, I think it is the courteous staff of PIA which makes Pakistanis feel comfortable.

Over the years, I have travelled in quite a few airlines, but by far I have not seen any as friendly and patient members of the crew as ours. They do their best to accommodate the passengers and address their concerns who most of the times behave immaturely and offensively. With limited inventory, the crew cannot fulfil every demand of every person. It is understandable nonetheless they still attempt to help. The members of the other airlines would either reprimand or ignore you if you made an unreasonable request. The staff on PIA would instead listen, smile, make an effort or apologise as if it was their fault.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com