Google translate can sometimes be very comical....but seems to have made the jokey closure of Amsterdam look serious !
I think PIA is better serving Amsterdam-Islamabad for Government and Embassy staff but for the large Pakistani communities of Rotterdam and The Hague fly from RotterdamTheHague Airport to Lahore.
PIA crew are no strangers to Rotterdam as they used to stay in a hotel there until PIA stopped Amsterdam around 3 years ago. They were bussed all the way to Rotterdam after and before flights
Pakistanis now form quite a large community in Holland. I am thinking a LHE-AMS-GLA-LHE service would surely be packed at all times if done 4 x week.
Not to mention ISB-AMS-ISB....the figures are there..come on PIA..make it happen !
Firstly, Etihad and PIA have codeshare on this route.
When PIA flew to AMS, Emirates had just started one daily flight with a 777 which is now a twice daily flight with the A380. Etihad started a daily flight in 2012 as a partner with KLM offering two daily flights in total. Last year Qatar started with 6 flights a week now 7. People have more choice now, PIA has never really focussed on passengers that had KHI as a destination they choose TK or EK. LHE passengers had that stop in FRA that was irritating because of the double checks.
Moreover, during 2012-2013 PIA was a troubled airline with regular delays on this route and that for a twice a week flight. You can argue that it has been fixed, however, Schiphol has not many slots left for the coming years. I still wonder what that office is doing there...
Firstly, Etihad and PIA have codeshare on this route.
When PIA flew to AMS, Emirates had just started one daily flight with a 777 which is now a twice daily flight with the A380. Etihad started a daily flight in 2012 as a partner with KLM offering two daily flights in total. Last year Qatar started with 6 flights a week now 7. People have more choice now, PIA has never really focussed on passengers that had KHI as a destination they choose TK or EK. LHE passengers had that stop in FRA that was irritating because of the double checks.
Moreover, during 2012-2013 PIA was a troubled airline with regular delays on this route and that for a twice a week flight. You can argue that it has been fixed, however, Schiphol has not many slots left for the coming years. I still wonder what that office is doing there...
Hi Umair
Amsterdam-Islamabad would mainly have business/governmental traffic so RotterdamTheHague-Lahore is ideal for the Pakistani communities settled in and around that area of South Holland. A nonstop flight will always be more popular and PIA has a long history of flying to HOlland. We live in hope eh ?!
You can't be all things to all people...so just be nice !
Only this suggests that PIA will be making a loss considering the competition, just think about how PIA left this route. The regular delays alone have damaged the image of the airline among people here.
There really is no logic in flying to AMS anymore unless they fly seasonally and that even doesnt look like it will be profitible, just too much competition from other airlines that will provide a much better service than PIA.
The problem is that when there is small population, PIA will do say 4 weekly from ams to karachi. Then those that live elsewhere will have to take connection in Pakistan. That's the problem with many PIA routes. If you want to fly Heathrow to karachi, you might be taking a connection in Pakistan.
So passengers just fly me if they're going to take connection in Pakistan anyway. Better service and timely arrival and better airports.
Maybe rather than Lahore-Glasgow-Dublin-Glasgow-Lahore, a better idea would be LHE-AMS-GLA-LHE...guaranteed yields,4 x a week on A330 or 777.
Singapore Airlines announced yesterday that they are stoppiing Moscow-Houston and Munich to Manchester to creat ea new Singapore-Manchester-Houston-Manchester-Singapore service, 5 a a week. If the world's greats can do such a route style,PIA should have no issues either.
You can't be all things to all people...so just be nice !
