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Pakistan International Airlines (also known as PIA), is Pakistan's national and international airline. Its IATA call code is PK. In Pakistan its initials are sometimes jocularly said to stand for "prayers in air".
1 History
PIA can trace its beginnings to the days when Pakistan still wasn't a nation. In 1946, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, also known as founder of Pakistan, realized the need of an airline network for the forming country. He called upon the help of an experienced industrialist, Mr. M.A. Ispahani .
On October 23 of 1946, Orient Airways was set up, registered in Calcutta. In February of 1947, three DC-3 airplanes were bought from a company in Texas, and in May of that year, the airline was granted a license to fly. Services were started in June, from Calcutta to Akyab and Rangoon. This was the first post war airline flight by an Indian registered airline company.
Two months after this service began, Pakistan as a nation was formed. Orient Airways began relief flights to the new nation, and soon after, it moved operations to KarachiKarachi is the largest city of Pakistan and the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the financial and commercial hub of Pakistan. The city is located on the Arabian Sea north west of the mouths of the Indus River. With a population of around 14 millio, where it began the important route from Karachi to Dacca. In addition, their initial domestic route in Pakistan was established, from Karachi to LahoreLahore is a major city in Pakistan that is the capital of the province of Punjab. It is located near the river Ravi and the Indian border. Lahore has 6. 5 million inhabitants and thus is the second largest city in Pakistan ( Karachi being the largest). to PeshawarPeshwar (known as Purushapura in the old days of Indian history) is a city in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (pop. 570,000) near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass. Peshawar used to be the capital of the Gandhara empire by Kaniska the First at 58, and from Karachi to QuettaQuetta is the capital of the province Balochistan, Pakistan. It is located in the most densely populated district in the northeast of the province. Quetta is situated in a river valley near the border with Afghanistan, with a road to Kandahar in the north to Lahore.
Due to increasing passenger demand, the airline increased its fleet before the end of the 1940sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the, and this caused financial trouble to the airline. The government of Pakistan, realizing the operation was failing economically, asked the airline to merge into a new, national airline that the government was planning on creating. Eventually, on March 11March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). There are 295 days remaining. Events 1513 Leo X is elected pope. 1649 The Frondeurs (rebels) and the French government sign the Peace of Rueil. 1702 The first regular Engl of 19551955 is a common year starting on Saturday. see link for calendar) Events January events January 2 Panama president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated. January 19 The Scrabble board game debuts. February events February 8 Nikolai Bulganin ousts Georgi Mal, Orient Airways merged with the Government's proposed airline, becoming Pakistan International Airways.
That year also, the airline opened their first route, under the PIA name, from Karachi to London Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom, via Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt and Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino, Italy.
