Despite having all the facilities from Pakistani authorities and monopolistic prices on Hajj and Umrah operations, PIA made a loss of PKR 5 Billion in 2008, according to this report. It was 1.9 billion in 2007 (see news item)
The easiest way to destroy a business, especially service business, is not paying heed to customers complaints. The following is an account of Mr. Nasir, who is from Ralawalpindi and is based in Atlanta , GA. I leave the conclusion of his ordeal to the readers. This complaint from a consumer is evidence of the state of affairs at PIA.
I travelled out of United States on 27th January 2008 and purchased return ticket from this company to fly with PIA ( Pakistan International Airline ) ticket from Peak Time Express Inc., 5430 Jimmy Carter blvd, Suite nbr 110, Norcross-Ga-30093. My seats were confirmed when i started my travel. Approximately a week before my return date i went to PIA's Rawalpindi office in Pakistan and was told that my ISB-LHE segment and JFK-ATL segment are still in confirmed status but LHE-JFK segment has been cancelled. Upon my inquiry I was told that my travel agent has cancelled my LHE-JFK segment of travel. I called my travel agent from pakistan and he denied, saying he did not cancel my seat whereas PIA's PNR history shows agent code in cancellation on June 17th afternoon time. I have no concern wether PIA did this breach or this Travel agent, bottom line is that I faced the consequences of this unethical act and business malpractice causing me MENTAL STRESS and i had to beg lots of Airline people to get me on some flight so I dont face financial losses by missing my worktime, I had to spend lots of money travelling between different offices of PIA in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. I was given seat on 12TH July flight for LHE-JFK segment and re-adjustment on ISB-LHE AND JFL-ATL segments. In addition to this stress and unhealthy practice I had to Pay a big sum of money for travel class change from N to K class and CHANGE OF TRAVEL DATE, WHICH WAS NEVER MY FAULT. I would like to plead for justice and compensation for my mental stress and financial loss. I will provide whatever documents I have collected ,for in support of my case. Where should I go and ask for justic against this Airline and the Travel Agent? Please help and advice legally.
to shut their mouth. We, Muslims, and especially Pakistani Muslims, are a cute bunch of people. We have the capability to ignore such serious sins as fornication, murder and drinking, taking them to be a part of life. We even indulge in hypocrisy, lying, greed, lethargy and what not without giving it a second thought. But on certain other (arguably less important issues) we raise an alarm that is, mildly put, extremely exaggerated.
Before coming to the issue that prompted me to write this, here is a little example of this sort of behaviour. Some time ago, I (for a change) went to visit a relative. When leaving his house, I, as is the custom, said “Khuda Hafiz”. At this, I was unexpectedly snubbed by a respected elder and told that that was not the proper Islamic way to say goodbye. Naturally confused, I asked her to elaborate. She explained that we should always say “Allah Hafiz” since Khuda means God and many different people have many different Gods, so we must be clear about whose protection we want to put the recipient of the prayer in. I just couldn’t help laughing. I tried to explain to her as briefly as possible that no matter how many different gods various people of the world believed in, we only believed in one and that was Allah. Since everyone present knew this, Khuda should not mean anything but Allah. To further elaborate, I told her that with her logic, she should call her dad by his name since various people had various dads and she should be clear about the person she was referring to.
Coming back to the point, I have received various text messages and heard from a number of friends that Lay’s chips are suddenly haraam and should be avoided at all costs since it is now a sin to have them. Some people have elaborated that the said snack contains something called E631 which is made from pork and thus makes it haraam.
I have no objection to my Muslim brothers avoiding the snack to protect their faith, but for anyone who has a curious bone like me, here is some information that might help decide the matter.
1. E631 is used to enhance the flavour of food.
2. Though E631 can be extracted from pig fat, it is not the only source. It can also be obtained from sardines, yeast extract and a plant extract called Tapioca. All these sources except pig fat are not Haraam under any Islamic law.
3. E631 is mainly used in the Masala flavour of Lay’s (imported from Thailand). This E631 is extracted from Tapioca and has been certified by the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand to be Halal.
4. A number of researchers have spent a lot of time studying all kinds of different foods including snacks and have decided on which products are halal and Haraam. The only Lay’s flavour that I found to be Haraam in these lists was Baked Lay’s Brand KC Masterpiece BBQ Flavour.
5. One ounce of regular lays contains 130 calories, 380 mg of salt and ten grams of fat (three grams of saturated fat). It has next to no minerals or vitamins. So there are other, more realistic reasons for staying away from too much intake of the snack.
So, if you want to extremely careful and do not trust the Thai Islamic Society, avoid BBQ and Masala flavours, the rest are fine. Although if someone wants to quit eating Lay’s totally just to be on the safe side, I respect their opinion.
Coming to the earlier point, I still wonder what our society would look like if we spent so much time and energy thinking about things where there is no doubt. Lying, cheating, harming others for one’s own benefit, making money through forbidden means, corruption, nepotism, bribery, misuse of authority, cruelty to humans and animals, all these things are forbidden. There is no confusion in these. Forget Lay’s; remember these and we’ll be fine.