ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan International Airlines has appointed aviation executive Adrian Hamilton-Manns as its chief executive, the airline’s board announced on Monday, calling the move a “pivotal chapter” in its transformation after privatisation.
The board said Hamilton-Manns brought more than 30 years of experience, had run three airlines as chief executive and was considered “a world expert in transformation and reviving airlines”.
The New Zealander led Oman’s low-cost SalamAir from 2024 until this year. He was earlier president and chief executive of FlyArystan, the budget arm of Kazakhstan’s Air Astana Group, from 2020 to 2024, and founding chief executive of Africa-focused flyafrica.com from 2012 to 2016.
He began his career at Air New Zealand in 1997 and has held senior roles at airlines including India’s IndiGo, South African Airways, Virgin Australia’s Pacific Blue and Indonesia’s Mandala Airlines. Most of his top jobs have been at low-cost carriers, while PIA is a full-service airline.
He took charge on Monday from Air Vice Marshal Aamir Hayat, who led PIA for four and a half years and received the airline’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Islamabad on Sunday. “We are immensely grateful for AVM Aamir Hayat’s steadfast commitment to the national flag carrier during a highly complex transitional period,” the PIA board chairman said.
A consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation took over PIA’s management on June 29 after the airline’s sale. It has been overhauling the fleet, routes and services since then, and is starting to rebuild its long-haul network.
