What was the old name of PIA?

The correct answer is Orient Airways because it was the premier airline operating in the region prior to being nationalized and integrated into Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

• Step 1 (Historical Foundation): Established in Calcutta in 1946 by industrialist families with the backing of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Orient Airways provided crucial air transportation links during the migration period of partition.


• Step 2 (State Merger): To streamline national aviation infrastructure, the Government of Pakistan merged Orient Airways with its own state-run air assets on March 11, 1955, officially creating the modern PIA.


• Incorrect Options:
  
  
  
  • Pakistan Airways is incorrect because no official commercial airline by this name served as the primary corporate predecessor to PIA.
  
  
  • Crescent Air is incorrect because it represents a fictional or unrelated corporate title within the context of early Pakistani aviation history.
  
  
  • Indus Air is incorrect because it does not correspond to any operational historical entity connected to the foundation of the national flag carrier.