Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), like many national carriers, has operated at a loss for years. To be more precise the carrier has consistently lost money every year since 2004. As a crowning achievement in 2007 its fleet was banned from traveling in the EU (except for 8 planes) due to safety issues, there was some controversy over the safety ban scope.
Fast forward to November 2010, AFP's headline today displays consistency "Pakistan airline seeks state bail out to survive."
There have been some positive milestones for PIA
- First Asian airline to land in Norway
- Owner of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan
To be fair, probably more state owned carriers have been operating at a loss than haven't. This just puts such carriers in stark contrast to flagship carriers like Emirates and Singapore Airlines that have successfully developed on a commercial basis.
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