Pakistan International Airlines review by Karima 2014-03-20

Pathetic service. I flew on PIA for the first time in several years in February 2014 via PK782 from Toronto to Karachi, on-board one of the older 777s that they have leased. Check in at Toronto was average, and boarding the plane was like trying to get into a sales event on boxing day, pushing and shoving, and the ground staff just shrugged their shoulders and could not care less. I was twice pushed around and shoved out of the way while trying to be civilized and stand in a proper line. On board the plane, I was met with a over-sized passenger sitting on my assigned seat and expecting me to take his seat at the back of the plane, as he wanted to sit closer to his wife. I refused to give up my seat as I had booked it well in advance as my preference, and it took the crew over 10 minutes of negotiating with the passenger for him to vacate my seat, all this time I was standing in the aisle with my bags in my hands. Throughout the flight they only served 2 meals which is ridiculous, and the meals they served were cold, with small portions and not even edible. The IFE seems to be better suited to a 15 year old plane rather than a modern day aircraft. The seat did not recline properly, and when it finally did, it did not lock into place, which meant it was moving around back and forth till I finally gave up and put it back in the upright position for the duration of the flight, The crew could only shrug their shoulders and tell me that this happens because of the age of their fleet. Rest assured, once I landed in Karachi I immediately cancelled my return ticket and will be flying back to Toronto on Emirates or Etihad. Trying to travel PIA is a big mistake, one which I was foolish enough of having repeated after several years of avoiding them, in the hope that they may have improved. Steer clear of PIA, they are the worse airline in the sky and they will not get any better anytime soon.