I’ve always been fascinated by “fifth freedom” and unconventional airline routes, like New York to Vancouver on Cathay Pacific, New York to Frankfurt on Singapore Airlines, London to Los Angeles on Air New Zealand, Singapore to London on Qantas, etc.
Anyway, starting June 5, 2013, Pakistan Airlines will offer twice weekly service between Chicago and Barcelona — what could be more fun? The service operates on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and after reading a trip report about Pakistan Airlines I’m actually kind of curious to try them.
Best of all per the Good Deal Premium Fares thread on FlyerTalk, the fares are extremely reasonable. Roundtrip business class — even in the peak of summer — is just $1,358 all-in.
And even more intriguing, to me at least, is that one way business class is just $769. While that’s a bit more than half of the roundtrip cost, most airlines charge at least the same for a one way international ticket as they do for a roundtrip.
I think I might just give them a try. For example I’ve wanted to fly Iberia’s new business class either to/from Europe, though not necessarily roundtrip. Rather than burning an extra 50,000 miles for the other direction I’d rather just pay to fly Pakistan Airlines. After all, surely that would make an interesting trip report?
Unfortunately best I can tell Pakistan Airlines doesn’t really partner with any useful airlines in terms of mileage accrual. But with those kinds of fares, who needs miles?
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March 13th, 2013 at 3:47 pm
The Miles Professor said,
Any specs on how nice the seats are? You need to make sure that their product is actually better than flying coach on American, United, etc.
March 13th, 2013 at 3:53 pm
lucky said,
@ The Miles Professor — If you look at this trip report they actually look like decent cradle seats:
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/183292/
March 13th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Andrew C said,
Yeah, just skimmed that TR – the seats don’t look terrible. You should definitely book this.
March 13th, 2013 at 4:14 pm
work2fly said,
If you do this, perhaps you could invite JRL to join you…
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2013/02/26/i-ran-into-justin-ross-lee-at-jfk-its-time-to-see-him-in-action/
It would make for a great trip report!
March 13th, 2013 at 4:17 pm
MT said,
I’ve flown that aircraft from London to Lahore (not sure if they still fly this route) and its really not too bad. The service and food was quite good in fact.
March 13th, 2013 at 4:25 pm
Gene said,
New product = tax deductible, right?
March 13th, 2013 at 4:29 pm
James said,
I would avoid PIA. They’re an accident waiting to happen. Lack of maintenance and most crucially lack of financing means have forced them to ground half of their fleet. Not enough cash to buy new spare parts…
Source: hangar.no a Norwegian blog (PIA flies to OSL, and this blog guy works there. He follows them closely)
March 13th, 2013 at 4:35 pm
Travel Summary said,
Let me tell you about my experience with PIA, which I flew many times but haven’t for years.
Worst. Airline. Ever. The last flight I was on had the last five rows of the plane designated as the smoking area. No really, they did. On another flight, the lavatory at the back of the plane was not only broken, but leaking to the several rows in front of it. On another flight, the flight attendants walked through the cabin spraying air freshener because it smelled so bad (hmmmm, I wonder why?). Once at check-in, I told the PIA employee that I was going to Los Angeles, and the luggage tickets said my bags were going to LOS instead of LAX. Thankfully I caught it in time. What’s funnier is that PIA doesn’t even fly to LOS airport in Lagos!
I haven’t flown them in 8+ years and you can see why. I’d run the other way!
March 13th, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Travel Summary said,
Oh and I forgot, one time I was flying to Lahore, Pakistan but the fog was so thick that that they had the plane routed to Islamabad. Except they made no announcement on the plane that they were doing so, and once we got to Islamabad they basically told us we were on our own. My options were to take a bus or buy a First Class ticket for the short flight, which is what I ended up doing. On that flight I was starving, so I ate the small sandwich they offered on the plane and became extremely sick.
It’s not worth it!
March 13th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Mohammed said,
Hopefully it should be ok as long as your aircraft arrives. I have plenty of friends and family use this airline in Business and Economy and they go all the way to Lahore.
I have heard generally more positive comments regarding them. The business products is something that is def note worthy. It would be interesting to the 777 product if you choose to fly with them!
March 13th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
RakSiam said,
looks like angled lie-flats, no?
March 13th, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Matthew said,
It’s nice to see this route back–it’s been a few years. Price is exactly the same as 2010!
http://upgrd.com/matthew/flying-to-barcelona-consider-pakistan-international-airlines-via-chicago.html
March 13th, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Bayguy said,
No offense but the company name is funny(PIA) Pain In &&&
March 13th, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Craig said,
Sam Chui, the famous photographer has recently been on a number of PIA flights too and he loved the service. Dubai – Pakistan routing and some domestic flights. If Boeing 777-200 is used expect this.
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Pakistan-International-Airlines/Boeing-777-240-ER/2214094/L/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Pakistan-International-Airlines/Boeing-777-240-ER/0535796/L/
March 13th, 2013 at 5:19 pm
Maria said,
I flew them several years ago and it wasn’t good, a rattlebox of a plane. They supposedly buy planes from the US and elsewhere after we’re done with them. I vowed to never fly them again, and have kept my promise.
March 13th, 2013 at 5:39 pm
Lufty said,
Good deal. But do they have an in-flight fax service?
March 13th, 2013 at 5:54 pm
JRL said,
I guarantee “JewJetting” won’t fly on this airline.
Plus, they have the same wine selection as EgyptAir… Pass.
-JRL
March 13th, 2013 at 6:23 pm
Craig said,
@Maria Actually all of PIA’s Boeing 777 fleet were brought from Boeing directly. Please do not make statements without checking the facts! PIA has actually never bought any used planes from the US for a very long time now!
March 13th, 2013 at 6:26 pm
Craig said,
@JRL Pakistan is an Islamic country. The airline follows the principles of the Quran and do not serve alcohol. Alcohol is also not served on Saudia, Iran Air, Kuwait Airways, Ariana Afgan and afew more.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Bryan said,
“PIA has actually never bought any used planes from the US for a very long time now!”
Has never for a very long time…HA!
March 13th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
Coutureguy said,
@Craig- I think that was JRL’s point.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:58 pm
Craig said,
@Bryan ok the word.. “Never” doesn’t really belong there but it has been a very long time since they bought used planes from the US?! Unless you want to prove me otherwise?
@Coutureguy Yes I did get his point. I was adding to it.
March 13th, 2013 at 8:04 pm
John said,
Would be cool to see you do some trip reports to more exotic places outside of your usual europe/asia trips. Maybe Africa, Latin America?
March 13th, 2013 at 11:09 pm
Robert Hanson said,
@John Yeah, maybe BGW, KBL, or for real cojones, DTW.
March 13th, 2013 at 11:51 pm
BigRedBears said,
I believe PIA still allows smoking on the aircraft
March 14th, 2013 at 12:48 am
oliver2002 said,
AI has a similar setup (new 777s, great 5th freedom route C/F fares, hit or miss schedulesn ethnic travellers) but, lie flat seats, plenty of booze and you can earn RDMs on LH M&M. How about checking them out? BTW, PIA=please inform Allah (before departure) AI= Allah informed
March 14th, 2013 at 2:10 am
lucky said,
@ oliver2002 — Any clue which of their routes have reasonable fares?
March 14th, 2013 at 7:49 am
Willy said,
Best 5th freedom flight I ever took was NRT-MNL on PIA back in 1991. What a hoot that was. Giant, empty 747, creaky as all get out. The NRT-MNL flight was the tag end of the East Asia PIA milk run that ran something like: KHI-SIN-HKG-MNL-NRT. LOL!
March 14th, 2013 at 7:59 am
Shaukat said,
I used to fly with PIA until the ME carriers took over the Lahore route. You just can not compare the two.
Sadly PIA is heavily indebted due to the govt’s improper management of the airline. Whereas the Arab airlines have all the money from the oil so they can spend at their leisure. Pakistan is going through a rough patch so improving the airline is a constant struggle with more head of state changes over the last decade. i.e. more changes to Board of Directors!
Flew PIA many times. It can be hit or miss – it will be pure luck to what you get. The J product is generally on the good side and with any foreigner onboard they do go the extra mile. The crew are friendly, talkative and love having their photographs taken. The food is very Pakistan/Indian stylied and is one of its famous selling points.
March 14th, 2013 at 8:51 am
Thrifty Tourist said,
I also have had many negative experiences on PIA, but some of their aircraft are quite modern. While I worked at Boeing, PIA was announced as the first airline to take the 777-200LR. They were also the first with the Jeppesen Flight Bag on board aircraft and other firsts as well. Granted this was many years ago, but the history & culture of PIA is to try & be the first airline to try new aircraft & technology. I would not hesitate to fly them on an international route where they use their most modern aircraft. I wasn’t into blogging when I traveled with them in the past, but will be ready with a camera next times do!
March 14th, 2013 at 10:11 am
wwk5d said,
“@JRL Pakistan is an Islamic country. The airline follows the principles of the Quran and do not serve alcohol.”
It’s not they are an Islamic country, it’s that they are conservative. Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Malaysia, Turkisk, Royal Jordanian, and MEA are all Islamic countries (or at least Muslim majority) are there is no booze.
Sam Chui’s TRs are nice to look at, but not very useful since he tends to love almost every flight. Plus, he’s more of an aviation nut and tends to focus on the planes themselves as much as what the airlines offer. Again, great pics, lovely to look at, but not useful if you are selecting a premium product.
March 14th, 2013 at 10:12 am
wwk5d said,
Sorry, meant to say, all those airlines DO serve alcohol.
March 14th, 2013 at 10:21 am
wwk5d said,
Also, Lucky, the TR shows the same plane flies from Paris to Frankfurt, which is a much better BC seat than what Euro airlines would offer…even if it is a short trip.
March 15th, 2013 at 5:45 am
Matrix said,
NOTE:
I know that the magazines and newspapers on the flight from Pakistan to the UK (Islamabad-Birmingham) are full of excrements. The reason is that for many religious believers on board, as soon as a woman has touched, i.e. seated herself on, the toilet it is off-limits for these men.
Hence they go to the bathroom with a paper product and take a dump in it. Urin deposal is not a problem since you don’t need to touch the seat…
This has been confirmed by airport personnel in BHX.
March 15th, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Craig said,
Islam forbids strictly its followers from drinking anything alcoholic, let alone serving it. Although most Islamic dominated countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Brunei and Iran banned the serving of alcohols onboard the airlines, certain Islamic countries airlines do serve alcohols onboard. Examples EK, MH, GA and maybe a few others. They can serve alcohol onboard but provided the alcoholic drinks must be served by a NON-MUSLIM. Thanks
March 15th, 2013 at 1:34 pm
wwk5d said,
Etihad, Qatar, Royal Jordanian, Syrian Air, Oman Air, and MEA also serve alcohol. So do Gulf Air, TunisAir, and Royal Air Maroc, I believe. And Turkish.
I think more airlines from Islamic countries serve alcohol than those that do not. However, some, like RJ, Oman, and Gulf Air don’t always serve it on routes within the Arabian Gulf.
March 16th, 2013 at 8:48 am
Michael said,
Note to self: don’t read the in-flight magazines on PIA
March 22nd, 2013 at 3:02 pm
Sohaib Shamim said,
@lucky You can save a further few hundred dollars if you search itamatrix… PIA fares under $900 for a roundtrip J class seat on ORD-BCN. However, you wont get this price on their website so guess a travel agent will have to do the booking!
March 22nd, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Sohaib Shamim said,
and PIA also has code sharing with Turkish, Thai and China Southern. Though you need to check if you can use their miles on PIA.
March 22nd, 2013 at 3:27 pm
lucky said,
@ Sohaib Shamim — Even with a travel agent I haven’t been able to price that, unfortunately.
April 2nd, 2013 at 12:55 pm
NJGAL said,
I fly PIA business class very often….the service is fine, the seats comfortable, and the food great! Given that you are paying for business class what you would for economy service on another airline, it is definitely worth it!
May 5th, 2013 at 2:55 am
Laura said,
I´m from Barcelona, but I´m living in Chicago, hat means that I have taken PIA to go Chicago Barcelona a lot of times, exactly 5 times, ans also all of my friends that ad come to visit me in Chicago, I have never had any problem with them. The workers are nice people, the plane is modern and comfortable, the food good and is cheap. I´m very happy that they are back, really!
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