Despite suffering from significant financial losses, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) reportedly granted over Rs 35 million in ticket discounts to various travel agencies for domestic flights, as disclosed by ARY News on Thursday.
Details indicate that discounts were applied to 2620 tickets, with rates ranging from 50%, 70% to an astounding 100%. The total value of these tickets, prior to discounts, was around Rs 3.53 billion, whereas the total discount amounted to Rs 160.43 million.
The Auditor General of Pakistan expressed concerns over these discounts, considering the airline’s precarious financial position and the fact that travel agencies are not permitted to offer ticket discounts without a formal request.
This questionable practice of providing domestic ticket discounts was unveiled in the 2020 audit report of PIA’s revenue management department, and is expected to feature in the 2021-22 audit report as well.
Despite its financial struggles, the audit report suggests that PIA seemingly prefers to continue offering domestic ticket discounts to agents. In 2022, the airline rightly decided to implement discounts of 50% and 75% on domestic tickets in line with IATA regulations.
