page_title: Pakistan International Airlines
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Pakistan International Airlines / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Burmese High Commissioner to India, U. Win (garlanded) accompanied by his two sons and other members of his personal staff, arrived in the then Calcutta on 15th October 1947. At the airport, he was received by Capt. Singh, A.D.C. to the Governor of West Bengal, U. Soe Nyunt, Representative of the Governor of Burma in Calcutta; and other prominent members of the Burmese community in the city.
context_page_description: Pakistan International Airlines is the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. Its central hub is Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, while Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, and Islamabad International Airport serve as secondary hubs.
  PIA was founded on 29 October 1946 as Orient Airways, and was initially based in Calcutta, British India, before shifting operations to the newly independent state of Pakistan in 1947. Orient Airways was nationalised to form the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation. The new airline commenced international services in 1955 to London, via Cairo and Rome. PIA became the first Asian airline to operate jet aircraft with the induction of the Boeing 707 into commercial service on 7 March 1960, and later in 1964 became the first non-Communist airline to fly to China. The airline played a vital role in the establishment of the Emirates airline in 1985. In 2004, PIA become the launch customer of the Boeing 777-200LR. On 10 November 2005 used the Boeing 777-200LR to complete the world's longest nonstop flight by a commercial airliner.
caption: Passengers and bystanders with an Orient Airways Douglas DC-3 on the occasion of the arrival of the Burmese High Commissioner to India at Calcutta, circa 1947
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