Pakistan’s AirSial takes delivery of first aircraft, an A320

AirSial (PF, Karachi Int’l) has taken delivery of its first of three A320-200s due from AerCap as it progresses towards a formal launch. AP-BOA (msn 2257) was ferried from Goodyear to Karachi Int’l via Portsmouth, Belfast Int’l, and Cairo Int’l over the course of November 27-29. The start-up will deploy its three A320s to Karachi, its primary base, from where they will serve Islamabad Quaid-e-Azam Int’l, Lahore Int’l, Peshawar, and Sialkot from mid-December onwards. Given the lengthy delay in the airline’s certification and tentative launch, the renewal of AirSial’s Regular Public Transport (RPT) licence will be heard during a federal cabinet meeting set for December 1. The Pakistani scheduled domestic passenger market is currently served by several carriers including PIA – Pakistan International Airlines, Serene Air, AirBlue, and Aircraft Sales & Services.