06/16/2024
PIA takes off
Picture: Mehmood Juma
This photograph shows air-hostesses of Pakistani airline, PIA, on the runway of the Karachi airport in 1965. Pakistan did not have a national airline until 1955. In 1955, Orient Airways, a private airline, was nationalised and renamed Pakistan International Airline.
PIA became one of the fastest-growing airlines in the 1960s. It was also the first airline to introduce inflight entertainment. The uniforms of PIA stewardesses and air-hostesses were designed by famous French fashion designer, Pierre Cardin.
PIA continued to perform well and hover in the list of top five international airlines across the 1970s. Its fortunes began to decline from late 1980s onward. By the mid-2000s, it was nearly bankrupt.
