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 custom 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?
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”.