'Achhe din' in Pakistan as growing middle class opting for air travel over rail and road

The state of Pakistan has registered an increase in per capita income which has resulted in citizens' opting for more domestic air travel over road or rail, as per media reports. 

Pakistan's domestic and international airlines have ransported a record 20 million passengers last year which is equivalent to about 10 per cent of the total population.  

According to Shahzad Dada who is CEO of Standard Chartered Pakistan, there has been an increase of 40 per cent in the last five years in the number of air travellers in India. 

The growth in air travellers is very much in line with the growing per capita income to around USD 1,700, he said."Air travelling has become more affordable (in Pakistan)," Emirates Vice President for Pakistan Jabr Al- Azeeby said at the event.

According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2016-17, the per capita income has increased 6.4 per cent to USD 1,629 fromUSD 1,531 in the previous fiscal year 2016.

 The size of the middle class in Pakistan is estimated to surpass that of the UK and Italy during 2016-2021, it said. One other reason for the increase in air travellers, according to civil aviation experts, is the significant drop in jet fuel prices and low inflation in recent years.

(With PTI inputs)