Dwindling PIA suffering heavy losses

Pakistan International Airlines, microcosm of Pakistan, suffering heavy loses.On a recent Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, water flowed from the toilets through the aisles during the entire journey from London to Islamabad.What if it reaches some electrical wires and puts us in danger? said one concerned passenger to another after flight attendants brushed off repeated complaints.This could be a catastrophe.PIA always seems to be on the brink of disaster. Once a source of pride for the country, the national flag carrier now seems closer than ever.The airline is hemorrhaging hundreds of millions of dollars a year while being pummeled by competition from sleek Gulf giants like Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.A quarter of its 40 aircraft are grounded because the airline cant find enough money to buy spare parts. Flights are regularly cancelled and engineers say they are having to cannibalize some planes to keep others flying.The situation has worsened to the extent of rendering this airline almost financially unviable, said the State Bank of Pakistan in a report on the state of the economy.In many ways the airline mirrors the way Pakistan – a strategic U.S. ally often described as a failing state – is run.The same inefficiency, nepotism and corruption that critics say have prevented the government from tackling a Taliban insurgency, crippling power cuts, ethnic violence and widespread poverty also threaten to bring down the airline.PIA lost 1.29 billion rupees ($212.7 million) in the first nine months of 2011, almost double the losses in the same period in 2010.The airline, like the Pakistani economy, has relied on bailouts to stay in the air, and is negotiating with the state for another rescue package.Just like PIA has the potential to do well, Pakistans economy does too. But both havent because of mismanagement. In the end that is the story -- mismanagement, Salman Shah, a former Pakistani finance minister, told Reuters.PIA officials declined to comment on the challenges facing the airline. --Reuters