Comment / Pakistan International Airways took delivery of two Boeing 777-200LRs last year, giving the carrier some 8865nm (16417km) of range to play with! Here, a low shutter speed during a cloudy spell nicely captures the touchdown of the older of the two aircraft, AP-BGY. PIA operates a sizeable fleet of eight Boeing 777s, with four series -200ERs and two series -300ERs also currently on strength.

Comment / The new PIA regional tails look even better courtesy of some superb early morning sunlight! AP-BHX is a new Boeing 777-200ER for the airline (delivered just a month ago) and is no doubt flying overtime at the moment whilst the rest of PIA's long haul fleet is banned from EU airspace.

Comment / Another PIA Triple Seven departs runway 24L at Manchester, on a very soggy January morning last winter! A month after this photo was taken, PIA took delivery of a pair of 777-200LRs, with the first aircraft AP-BGY passing through Manchester on its delivery flight from Seattle on the 26th February.

Comment / Stansted welcomed the first arrival of PIA's new services from Pakistan this afternoon, with A310-300 AP-BGS arriving from Islamabad via Karachi over half and hour ahead of schedule.

Comment / The arrival of PIA marks the opening of a new chapter in the modern history of London Stansted Airport. With most of Europe sown up by the low cost carriers, and regular trans Atlantic services now firmly established in the guise of MAXJet and Eos, the centre of Asia is now within easy reach too. The A310 schedule to Pakistan operates twice weekly, with a Stansted arrival time of 1500.

Comment / Superb mid-afternoon lighting as a PIA Boeing 747-300 approaches runway 06R, it's exhaust fumes clearly visible! Note the Thomsonfly Boeing 767 turning in onto the localiser in the distance.