KARACHI:( The COW News Digital)-Air Karachi, Pakistan’s emerging private airline, has partnered with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) to source passenger aircraft for its upcoming launch, according to the airline’s chairman, Hanif Gohar.
Backed by a consortium of prominent businessmen from Karachi, the airline is also in talks with global aviation giants Boeing and Airbus to acquire at least three aircraft. The venture, launched in November 2024 with Rs5 billion ($17.6 million) in seed capital contributed by 100 stakeholders, aims to fill a growing void in the country’s aviation sector.
“We’re in negotiations with COMAC for the C919, as well as with Boeing and Airbus,” Gohar confirmed, referring to COMAC’s narrow-body jet designed to compete with models like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
The private sector initiative comes amid the ongoing decline of the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which the financially strained government is once again attempting to privatize.
“We will begin operations as soon as we finalize an agreement with any of the aircraft suppliers—whoever comes through first,” Gohar said. He anticipates a deal could be secured within a month.
Initially, Air Karachi plans to launch domestic operations with a fleet of three aircraft, with an expansion to four more planes and international routes within the first year.
The airline recently received its Regular Public Transport (RPT) license from Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, marking a key milestone in its pre-launch phase.
Air Karachi is modeled after Air Sial, a successful private airline established by Sialkot-based industrialists, and aims to replicate its operational independence and financial viability in the face of national carrier challenges.
