Foreign Airhostesses in PIA to be sacked soon

[cpt_747]

Abbas Ali wrote:

If PIA wishes to retain some of the foreign cabin crew then there should be equal salary package for both Pakistani and foreign air hostesses.

I first disagreed with the action of PIA but now I understand that it is discrimination against Pakistani workers. However, I must say that PIA should get rid of those rude bunch of cows, over weight bulls & must replace them with young looking girls from Colleges & Universities so that those girls can support themselves to finish their education.

[INSIDER]

On the same salary package who do you think will come and work for PIA. Its peanuts when converted into their currency. If PIA need to get foreign crew then salary will be different otherwise nobody will work and so far in PIA i have yet to fine a single cabin crew who could speak English properly.

PIA has a huge network and native language speakers are must, in terms of safety also. We serve spicy Biryani and rice to foreigners, do you think he will ever travel on PIA. The poor passenger gets a diarhorrea the moment he gets on board.

At one end Govt and PIA management wants to make it a profitable airline and on the other end they are cutting down expenses which are required. Does PIA have budget for marketing? nowadays you switch on TV its only Qatar Airways you see. They are on CNN, BBC, Sky News etc, so much so i saw their banner on India cricket series. If you ask PIA pilots half of the airspace in Pakistan is filled with them. They have banners, posters everywhere, even on Radio Cabs. This is only in Pakistan i dont know how much they spent on other destinations.

[Moin]

The middle eastern carriers don't necessarily hire girls from dirt cheap countries. When flying QR or before with EK, I have seen girls from several diverse countries such as the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Jordan, Pakistan, India, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Phillipines, New Zealand, Mauritius, Japan, China and so on, so not all these countries are exactly cheap third world nations. EK also makes it a point to mention the nationality of their crew on each flight and the languages they can speak.

As far as PIA sacking the foreign girls and hiring locals, I don't think in the end they can afford to be too fussy with what they get when offering a paltry sum of Rs.13K. If you're looking for presentable, good looking girls who can speak good english, those girls are not going to go and apply for a job as an air hostess with PIA. A girl who can speak english properly would obviously have had a good education and her ambitions would be to continue and higher her quality education to enable her to find a well paying and more respectable job. In Pakistan, being an air hostess is looked down upon by many people and alot of families will not allow their girls to go for such a job, especially if its with an airline like PIA and the ones who do, will often do so because they know that alot of foreign travel would be involved which they could not afford otherwise and it does pay something, even if it isn't much at all. So if they think that by firing these foreign girls they'll be able to find the equivalent in Pakistan as far as language skills and overall appearance is concerned for 1/4th of what they paid the foreign girls, all I can say is 'stupid is as stupid does'.

[Abbas Ali]

Fresh batches of PIA cabin crew have smart and bright young Pakistanis. And, by further improving selection process and by introducing latest training techniques and standards at PIA Training Centre (PTC), the airline should be able to produce more well-trained and well-groomed Pakistani cabin crew.

The airline itself also will have to improve its overall standard and image including improvement in cabin crew salary structure to attract educated young Pakistanis to join PIA as cabin crew.

[javed]

Pakistani boys and girls working in call centers in ISB, LHE and KHI for various multinationals speak English just like a native. Better accent over Indian is the only factor that attract call center business to Pakistan.

Why PIA can not hire and train the local crew for perfect accent. Similar all the foreign language requirements can further be met by training at NUML - federal govt university. This will result far better cost controls for the airline.

[Moin]

PIA should have some sort of affiliation with some english language institution that could help in brushing up the english speaking skills of those crew members who have problems with it. English language courses are available here in abundance.

[Airborne]

PIA should have some sort of affiliation with some english language institution that could help in brushing up the english speaking skills of those crew members who have problems with it. English language courses are available here in abundance.

I quite agree with this suggestion; I have heard that even Pakistan Cricket Board is thinking on those lines to have their players get few english linguistic sessions.

[Abbas Ali]

A costly decision - 'The News' - Editorial

During question hour in parliament this week, it came to light that several airhostesses hired by the national flag carrier, PIA, from overseas were being paid as much as Rs150,000 per month. Compared to this rather astronomical sum, Pakistani airhostesses were getting a pittance. The minister of state for defence told parliament that when he found this out he decided to terminate the services of these foreign airhostesses. The worthy minister is to be commended for that but the question still arises -- why did the airline hire such costly employees in any case? What purpose could they have, or did they, serve? Did the airline's in-flight service improve remarkably; was there a sudden rise in its image and quality of service, especially on international routes?

Perhaps this is a question that needs an answer. To say that this was done under a managing director who is no longer in the airline's service is to beg the issue -- it needs to be examined why an organisation that seeks to compete with so many international competitors would take such an illogical decision. It bears reminding that the airline has also in recent years suffered massive operating losses and has more or less stayed afloat because of financial bailouts from the federal government. At the very least, one hopes that such decisions that come at the expense of the taxpayer will not be repeated.

Source: The News - Editorial

[javed]

It bears reminding that the airline has also in recent years suffered massive operating losses and has more or less stayed afloat because of financial bailouts from the federal government.

Biman story being repeated here in Pakistan as well. After all, senior employees of Biman used to be PIA emplyees at one point. Fate will also be similar. Biman also started winding-up by operations to US - New York, etc.