Adil Najam
The 1960s PIA advertisement that had been featured as the ATP Picture of the Day on 12 June, 2006 is one of the most visited blogpost to date.
We had featured a second PIA Ad from that era on June 24, 2006, which is also interesting but got considerably less attention.
Today, as I prepare to catch my PIA flight to Pakistan (this evening) I thought I might repost it. As we have commented on various occasions, the edge has come off PIA. Sometimes one wonders if the wings will too. I hope they won’t; at least not today!
The crew I will encounter tonight will be wearing a different set of uniforms, but the PIA crew uniform from the 1960s has an interesting pedigree to it. That celebrated uniform is featured in this PIA ad.
According to PIA literature:
In 1966, Pierre Cardin, the renowned French fashion designer, came up with the legendary fawn and moss green summer and winter uniform edged with turquoise. The uniform consisted of a short, easy fitting “A” line tunic, slim-line trousers and imaginatively moulded dupatta that not only covered heads but also turned heads. The uniform became an instant hit, the slim-line trousers immediately were dubbed as ‘PIA Pajamas’. Fashion-conscious young ladies, all across Pakistan, copied Cardin’s design eagerly. This popular uniform design was used by the airline from 1966 to 1975.
Anyhow, combined with the other one, or alone, what–if anything–does this ad say about how Pakistan saw itself; then and now?
Let us get rid of this white elephant. (Actually it should have been done 15 years back) There is no hope that it can be salvaged from the mess it is engulfed in. A privatized PIA will be an incentive for authorities to genuinely open up our skies to competition and lure investment in aviation. Funds allocated to operate this airline (notorious for having one of the worst plane-to-staff ratio) and the financial guarantees lavished to obtain loans for it can be better spent on financing the development of aviation infrastructure in the country. It is not wise to throw good money after bad money year after year.
As if removing alcohol from menu was not sufficient; people have witnessed male crew congregating at the rear of the cabin to pray in the middle of the flight. I would rather crew serve than pray while on duty. No wonder the beginning of the relentless decline of PIA coincides with the discovery of Islam in Pakistan under pious rule of Mard-e-Momin.
PIA has been loosing traction for a long time. Over the years people have been misled by symptomatic remedies such management replacement, financial bailouts, new/used aircraft acquisitions. None of these brought PIA grandeur back rather the airline is currently loosing Rs. 3-4 billion a month.
This ad represents the nation which is on the road to progress. Today’s PIA does not depict that.
a fascinating read is this website.
A history of PIA.
The PIA management is pressing hard for a quick sale of the company-owned Roosevelt hotel in New York. Ever-increasing bids are dropping in from real estate agents worldwide but what puzzles me is why PIA would be so eager to sell off a valuable asset whose value is rising by the hour. Not surprisingly, some irregularities have surfaced in connection with the hiring of consultant firms for the sell-off. Let us hope PIA does not end up as PTCL and KESC… another prized national asset squandered through an unneeded and corrupt privatization.
Adil have a safe and pleasant trip…your post brings back a lot of good memories of my travels with” great people to fly with”.
ok here’s my take on this:
1) The Ad: Its creative, fun and well made. but i do not agree that modern pakistani ads are not that progressive and creative anymore. Many FMCG, Telecom and Banking companies in pakistan routinely come up with advertising (yes in today’s world) that is modern, hip, fun and quite creative. Judging from these ads, even today pakistan sees itself as a progressive and dynamic nation - atleast a section of our society does, which i trust is a “very” large section.
2) it is usually a small minority which depicts everything being gloomy, and this depiction ultimately effects the perception of rest of the people. our media today is too busy with pointing out “issues” left, right and center. our opinion leaders are habitually pessimistic, leading to the state we are in now.
3) PIA is a pretty okay airline. The bigger planes are actually quite comfortable. The food is good and service is usually good too.
4) In local flights atleast, as soon as the plane lands and you unfasten your seatbelt (metal ka chapta hissa….), the airline crew puts on the music of rangeela’s “ik hussan ki devi say mujhe piyar huwa tha….” They do it in every flight i think. i wonder who instructed them to put this one song and nothing else on earth
5) i heard that PIA experienced lot of staff attrition to new middle eastern airlines. this could be one of the reasons for deterioration in service quality.
6) airblue vs. pia… against popular opinion, i would still go for pia… (for international travel though, i “never” choose pia, as there are far better options available there, starting from good old emirates.
7) airblue does have a better check-in system though. much much better, with very good service.
I think this PIA uniform represents Pakistan better.
Some of my friends complain that in PIA, they dont serve alcohol. Is it true?
In order to be business friendly they should serve alocohol. This is biggest reason why muslims are lagging behind hindus in hospitality industry( like restuarents) in USA.