Terrible flight

I am a frequent flyer who after the change in PIA management decided to patronize our national airline. I made confirmed bookings on March 14, 2019 in Business Class for wife, self and three children aged 8, five and under 3 years for Umrah. We departed Lahore on June 6 and returned on June 17, 2019. We checked in at Medina airport almost two hours and 45 minutes before departure and our baggage was tagged. I was told by counter staff to talk to an official of PIA. He told me that the flight was overbooked on the Medina-Lahore sector and he could only offer four scattered seats in Business and one Economy seat for my five-year-old son. When I insisted that I be given seats as per my booking, the official threatened that if I did not take his offer he would declare me as No-Show in the system and offload our baggage. I was not informed by PIA on email or telephone about this situation. I requested that either he gives my family seats next to each other or books me on the next flight along with hotel accommodation. He again threatened to offload us. My wife and children were tired and so I agreed on the condition that PIA would request other passengers so that our family could be seated together. The seats allocated were 1-K, I-C, 2C,4-A and 10K for my five-year-old son.

The nightmare and humiliation did not end here. When we reached the aircraft I saw a PIA pilot in uniform sitting in Business Class while a five-year-old revenue passenger holding confirmed seat was forced to be seated in Economy. The PIA staff did not help us and when my children were almost crying feeling insecure seated next to strangers instead of parents, a few passengers out of courtesy offered three centre-row seats. While I was trying to help my children get settled next to their mother, a senior cabin crew member shouted rudely at me and threatened to offload me and hand me to the police. The other cabin crew added insult to injury by informing passengers in Business Class that we had not paid our full fare etc. Such public humiliation and harassment continued and I was not allowed to visit my family and reassure them, although the crew were aware that I held confirmed Business seats.

Daaniyaal Hanif

Lahore