Pakistan International is considering re routing its New JFK flights from its current route to a different one. PIA currently has two flight to New York that stop over in Manchester and then fly onwards to New York. Today Airline routes tweeted that PIA has closed booking on Manchester to New York JFK route from 30 MAY 2017. But PIA sources have denied any such thing happening. A PIA source confirmed that there is no such change yet and bookings are going as usual. PIA operates this flight using the fifth freedom traffic rights which allows PIA to book and fly local passengers for New York from Manchester.
When we contacted PIA about the reservations to JFK we were informed there is no such thing and the airline is booking passengers as usual. On the other hand Airline Routes has clarified that reservation is “open on/after 03JUN17 (30MAY17 is open)”.
According to PIA officials the the New York route is not profitable from last decade and there are calls within the PIA to re route this flight and there are several proposals flying around on how to re route this. Last year PIA announced that this flight will now be routed through Leipzig Halle Airport. But the issue here is lack or passengers and those backing he idea say that there is enough demand for cargo that would not affect the profitability of this route. The proposal is in its final stages but with the change in management and new ideas propping up we don’t see this happening.
Another very interesting idea that must be considered is to re route the flight via Toronto Pearson International. This way PIA will add 2 extra flight to Toronto and add extra frequency. PIA will also save extra on crew hotels & others in Manchester and Leipzig plus one of the planes will be spared by planing the route in a smart way. The biggest advantage will be to add extra capacity if needed to New York at a later stage if needed.
Add Comment