The last of the two Airbus A320 aircraft acquired on a dry lease by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) landed at Islamabad International Airport on the weekend.
According to details, the aircraft took off on Thursday from Perpignan, a southern French city near the Mediterranean coast, and stopped over in Egypt before touching down in Islamabad on Saturday morning.
Taking to Twitter, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) PIA Air Marshal Arshad Malik penned that it is the second narrow-body aircraft received by PIA within a month and the third under the incumbent administration.
He added that the development is in line with the national flag carrier looking to upgrade its fleet with modern and fuel-efficient aircraft.
He also appreciated the PIA administration for working together to ensure the smooth delivery of the second narrow-body aircraft a month apart.
Speaking in this regard, a PIA spokesperson said that the second Airbus A320 will officially join the PIA fleet in the next few days.
PIA’s engineering and other concerned departments are working hard to fulfill all necessary requirements to bring this aircraft into operation as soon as possible.
With its arrival, the total number of Airbus’ A320 aircraft of the national flag carrier has reached 11. The overall size of PIA’s fleet will increase to 29 once this aircraft officially becomes operational.
The spokesperson added that the two A320s have been acquired on a six-year dry lease from the Bank of Utah. They were manufactured in 2017 and each has a passenger capacity of 170 seats.
PIA had floated a tender for the acquisition of two A320 aircraft on lease in 2019. They would have joined the national carrier last year but the process slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and prevailing aircraft industry crisis worldwide.