Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is Pakistan’s national carrier, operating a fleet of Boeing 777s, Airbus A320-200s, and ATR aircraft. Unless you’re travelling to some obscure destination in Central Asia or making a pilgrimage for the Haj to Saudi Arabia, the only reason most people fly Pakistan International Airways (PIA) is to get to Pakistan.
As national carriers go, PIA’s perfectly serviceable, but it never wows me the way some of its regional competitors do. The airline’ll get you where you need to go with a minimum of fuss, but the lack of frills makes me feel like I’m flying a discount airline. A special note to travellers who like to enjoy an alcoholic drink or two when they fly: PIA is a dry airline.
Fare types
Pakistan International Airlines keeps it simple with two main fare options: Executive Economy Class and Economy Class. PIA rebranded its business class as executive economy, likely because the service they offer pales compared to competing airlines.
The executive economy seats do offer extra leg space compared to standard economy and will recline into flatbeds, but they’re showing their age. To me they seem outdated compared to those found from the glitzy airlines operating from the neighbouring Gulf states. Purchasing an executive economy ticket gets you premium access to the airline’s Business Class lounges at all international and major domestic stations, but don’t expect much as the lounge service is pretty bare bones.
While PIA doesn’t belong to any major airline alliances, it does have codeshare agreements with several partners so you can usually get access to their lounges in other countries. Executive economy passengers also get increased baggage allowance and better meal choices onboard your flight, along with other priority services.
Economy class is fine, but depending on the type of aircraft you are flying in the PIA fleet, their seats are notably smaller compared to the industry average. You can get slightly more legroom in economy if you book one of the first five to seven rows in the economy section that sits over the wing.
As always, try to avoid seats that are in the back of the plane near the lavatory and galley, especially the last row which does not recline. Also avoid the seats in front of exit rows as they don’t recline either.
Baggage allowance
PIA’s baggage allowance varies dramatically by route and ticket type, so the rules can get confusing. If you’re flying to Pakistan from Toronto, economy passengers can check in two bags that weigh no more than 28 kilograms each while executive economy customers can check in a third bag (up to three pieces at 28 kg each). For infants travelling that route, they can only check in a single bag of no more than 28 kg.
On flights from Paris to Pakistan, economy passengers can check in baggage up to 40 kg total, while executive economy passengers have a 50 kg allowance. Under the weight concept used on European routes, this allowance can be split across multiple bags, though standard international aviation safety regulations prohibit any single checked bag from exceeding 32 kg.
Unlike the Toronto flight, there’s no distinction for infant passengers and, oddly, the weight limit on the return leg is 10 kg lower for each fare type. If you’re flying to other European cities with PIA like Copenhagen or Oslo, you’d think the baggage allowance would be the same as Paris, but it isn’t, so check before you fly.
If you end up flying with too many bags, you do have the option of purchasing additional baggage space for a fee, though excess baggage is governed by applicable charges and tariffs.
Good news: PIA’s carry-on rules are easy to figure out. Economy passengers can bring a single bag onboard that weighs no more than 7 kilograms while executive economy passengers have a total carry-on allowance of up to 12 kg, consisting of one main bag weighing up to 7 kg and one small briefcase weighing up to 5 kg.
Your main carry-on cannot have dimensions greater than 38 cm long, 22 cm wide and 55 cm high.
Check-in
PIA offers online check-in via their official website. The bad news is that it is only available for domestic flights between Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, and Skardu. Even for those flights, you can’t check in your physical luggage online (though you can purchase extra baggage allowance during the process), so you’ll still need to visit the check-in counter to get bags tagged before you board.
The airline does have a dedicated PIA App for iOS and Android smartphones, and you can use it to book a flight, keep track of your flight status, consult PIA’s schedule and look at information about your booking including itinerary, flight timings, booking classes, and ticket information. While you can’t change your reservation through the app, it offers digital check-in for select domestic routes from 24 hours up to three hours before flight departure.
My recommendation is to get to the airport early (PIA requires passengers to reach the airport a minimum of four hours before departure for international flights due to intensive security arrangements).
In-flight entertainment and Wi-Fi
PIA offers an in-flight entertainment system (usually seat-back or overhead screens), though they’re not very modern and notoriously fickle. Prepare yourself for the possibility they won’t be working. I was glad I loaded my own music, movies and TV shows on my tablet so I had something to amuse myself on the nearly 16-hour flight from Toronto to Karachi when none of the screens worked on board.
I also always bring a physical book or two, just in case my tablet dies and there’s no way to recharge it. As for Wi-Fi, it’s available on some domestic flights and is used to deliver online content to passengers on their own devices instead of having in-flight screens on board.
Loyalty program
Whether you fly frequently for business or pleasure, Pakistan International Airlines has several loyalty programs catering to very specific types of travellers.
One of the most innovative options is their Family Program which lets up to nine family members who are related by blood or marriage collect miles as a group and redeem them for rewards. There’s also a dedicated points program for children aged two to 12. With so many Pakistanis emigrating to Europe and North America, these programs are great for helping them stay connected with family back home.
Program members can redeem points for free flights, seat upgrades, additional luggage space, priority seat selection and more.
The airline also has a more traditional loyalty program known as Awards +Plus (A+), which has two versions that distinguish between business travellers and individuals.
The corporate version is similar to the family program in that a company can collectively earn rewards from all employee travel and redeem them for dynamic flights, flight upgrades, excess baggage, and pre-allocation of seats.
The Awards +Plus program offers four tiers of membership based on qualifying criteria. Members holding valid Emerald, Sapphire, or Diamond Cards from the previous three-tier system will continue to have their benefits honored. The more you fly, the higher you climb up the membership scale and the quicker you earn points, higher tiers earn bonus A+ Miles (up to a 35% bonus on all PIA trips) and receive increased baggage allowances (up to 15 kg of extra baggage).
Unfortunately for those travelling to Canada, the baggage allowance bonus is not available for flights to or from Canada, which includes Toronto, the airline’s only North American destination.
Refunds and cancellation
When it comes to ticket changes on international flights, Pakistan International Airlines offers one free change of your reservation in either direction. Anything beyond that will incur a Change of Booking (COB) fee which varies depending on your route and destination.
If you’re flying economy, you have to make your free change no later than seven days before your flight while executive economy passengers can do it at least three days before departure. For subsequent changes, or changes made within these timeframes, Change of Booking charges will apply.
If you make your changes beyond that time frame, not only will you pay the change fee, but you will also have to pay any applicable fare differences between your old and your new reservation.
Ticket changes can be made online via the Manage Booking tool, or by contacting customer service directly via phone at +(92-21)-111-786-786 or email at contact@piac.aero.
As for refunds, the airline will give you your money back if they cancel a flight, don’t reasonably meet their flight schedule or have to bump you due to overbooking.
They will offer additional refunds if you don’t use a portion of your flight ticket. For example, if you stop your journey in Karachi, but don’t fly the onward leg to Kabul, your Karachi-Kabul portion will be refunded, although you will be hit with cancellation and administration fees.
The only other way you can cancel your reservation and get a refund without charge or penalty is if you or an immediate family member (husband, wife, children, or parents) traveling on the same flight dies or is hospitalized before departure.
They require supporting documentation such as a death/burial certificate, proof of relation, or a hospitalization certificate (discharge slip) to prove it. I’d suggest you buy trip cancellation insurance if you’re flying PIA, otherwise you’ll never see your money again.
This KAYAK-commissioned article is presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the article are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others. Find more perspectives in our user reviews below.
