Mr. Kamran Rasool, Chairman PIA in his address to the shareholders at 51st Annual General Meeting said that PIA is making all efforts to increase its profitability and improve the services of the airline.

He expressed his confidence in Mr. Aslam R Khan, Managing Director PIA and the employees of the airline assuring that with their team effort, PIA will be able to meet the challenges faced ahead.

While addressing the shareholders, Chairman PIA said that PIA suffered a loss of Rupees 13.399 billion during the financial year 2007 which turned out to be an exceptionally difficult year for PIA due to many reasons. He made specific reference to the unexpected rise in fuel prices in second half of the year which severely impacted the operating cost. As a consequence, the planned recovery remained elusive and key financial targets were missed. He said that the airline’s Hajj operation 2007-2008 was substantially conducted with PIA’s own fleet and was one of the most successful hajj operations in PIA’s history.

With regard to PIA’s fleet modernization plan, Chairman PIA said that PIA had inducted two more Boeing 777s during the year 2007, apart from the earlier induction of the six new Boeing 777 aircraft. PIA also added four ATR 42 aircraft in the first half of 2007 increasing its ATR - 42 fleet to seven. With these additions, the average age of the fleet has come down from 14 years in 2006 to 13 years in December 2007. He said that one more Boeing 777 had joined PIA fleet a few days back. Furthermore, seven new Airbus 320 – 200 aircraft will be inducted in PIA fleet with deliveries starting from the year 2009 onwards. The younger fleet will bring efficiency in fuel consumption, reduction in aircraft maintenance cost and improved customer comfort, he added.

Chairman PIA informed the shareholders that during the year 2007, the customer convenience remained one of the focal-points for PIA. Ten stations across the network were linked to PIA’s own Airport Check-in System (ACSI). These include Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Dhaka, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Oslo, Beijing and Kuala-Lumpur. Six more stations are planned to be integrated to ACSI during 2008. In order to facilitate transit passenger, check-in facility was introduced across the network and passengers are now issued boarding passes for the whole itinerary at the stations of origin. Same day return check-in facility was also introduced on domestic routes.

During the meeting, two new members of the Board namely Mr. Mubashir Iftikhar and Malik Nazir Ahmad were elected. The Shareholders welcomed the newly elected Board members and while expressing their satisfaction over the conduct of election, hoped that with their business acumen and diverse experience, the new Board members would play an effective role in the turnaround of PIA. The Shareholders also welcomed the appointment of Mr. Aslam R Khan as Managing Director and said that with his vast experience in commercial aviation, PIA would soon regain its past glory.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Chairman PIA said the airline was undergoing a change process and with the support of Federal Government, Board Members and Shareholders as well as dedication of employees, PIA will once again become “Great People to Fly With”.