Aijaz Haroon MD PIA to be Pakistani Ambassador

Latest news is that PIA MD Aijaz Haroon has been lobbying his drinking buddy President Asif Ali Zardari to become a Pakistani Ambassador. Though MD PIA Aijaz Haroon has no qualificAtion to be an ambassador, that should not stop President Zardari from considering Aijaz Haroon. Mr. Aijaz Haroon was not really qualified to be MD material either. Anyway, stay tuned and let’s see what happens.

PIA Has Record Loss Under Aijaz’s Stewardship

PIA recorded its worse loss ever in the last year. Even with declining fuel prices PIA’s management was not able to pull Pakistan’s national flayg carrier out of financial losses. The total accumulated loss by PIA is now well over sixty billion rupees (about $1 billion USD). For a developing nation like Pakistan, this is a carotid artery hemorrage that cannot last long.

Last year, MD PIA Capt. Aijaz Haroon promised PM Gilani that he had a solution to turnaround the airline within twelve months and stop the losses. He articulated that his vast experience as airline pilot gave him insights on how to improve flight service for customers and overall improvement in flight efficiencies.

After a year at the helm, MD PIA Capt. Aijaz deserves and ‘F’ for his management abilities. He has failed in all categories except plaquating his pilot fraternity. With a heft 20% pay increase, he has delivered to his ilot pcohorts at the expense of the Pakistani taxpayer. President Zardari should be proud of his drinking buddies accomplishments.

Where are we headed?

PIA Crashing – PIA MD Aijaz Haroon in the Cockpit

One of the first acts of Asif Ali Zardari was to appoint his old drinking buddy Aijaz Haroon as Managing Director of Pakistan International Airlines. Aijaz has virtually no management experience, his sole experience is as a pilot for Boeing airplanes. But the goal for Asif Zardari is not necessarily the success of PIA but to get “his” people in position of financial power. Capt.

Capt. Aijaz Haroon MD PIA and Drinking Buddy of Asif Zardari

Aijaz Haroon has promised to turnaround the national carrier in six months, since he was appointed May 7, 2008, that would mean by Nov. 7, 2008 the national carrier, PIA, will move to profitability.

 

Our inside sources tell us that Aijaz Haroon’s charter is something quite different. He will either drive PIA towards complete bankruptcy for a privatization windfall, and/or further leverage the Company and try to buy additional planes and gain manufacturer kick back (most likely from Boeing).

We forecast that Aijaz Haroon will keep touting to the press increase in PIA revenues as a showcase of his performance, whereas in reality PIA profitability will continue to decline. The last management acknowledged a record breaking Rs. 13 billion loss. We predict that under the management Aijaz Haroon will have over Rs. 60 billion loss.

The other excuses Aijaz Haroon, MD PIA, will use is to blame increasing oil prices as a cause to loss of profitability, or he will use devaluation of the Rs. as an excuse to cover PIA losses. But neither of these reasons are valid. PIA needs a marketing plan overcoming ‘Open Skies’ approach and leadership to improve morale of the PIA staff. So far, he does not exhibit the ability to provide either.

Running an airline requires management skills, understanding marketing, global brand management, international finance, open skies policies, and confidence of the staff, Mr. Aijaz Haroon has none of these skills. What he does have, is similar taste in beverage as Asif Ali Zardari.

In developed nations you never hear about the bus driver becoming the head of Greyhound, but in Pakistan I guess the bus driver can become the MD of PIA in Pakistan.