PIA to fly two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from Norse Atlantic on UK routes from early November

PIA will add two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to its Pakistan to United Kingdom flights from early November 2026, under an agreement signed with Norwegian airline group Norse Atlantic ASA, ProPakistani reported on Friday 9 October, citing a statement released the same day.

The deal is an ACMI arrangement (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance): Norse Atlantic supplies the jets along with the crew who fly them, their maintenance and the insurance, while PIA sells the seats on its own routes. This is a wet lease, not a purchase, so the Dreamliners do not join PIA's own fleet.

What changes for passengers

• Routes: long-haul flights between Pakistan and the UK. PIA has not yet said which cities, flight numbers or days the 787s will fly.
• Start: early November 2026, according to the statement.
• Aircraft: two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, twin-aisle widebodies.
• Crew: Norse Atlantic crew operate the flights under the ACMI terms.

Norse Atlantic chief executive Eivind Roald said the company was "pleased to support PIA's long-haul capacity expansion and to strengthen connectivity between the UK and Pakistan", and described the agreement as the start of a strategic partnership between the two airlines. The deal lets Norse redeploy aircraft freed up from an earlier ACMI contract.

Why PIA needs the seats

PIA, privatised in December 2025, operates 31 aircraft, a mix of Boeing 777s and Airbus A320s, flying from China to North America, ProPakistani reported. Britain is home to one of the largest Pakistani communities abroad. Leasing in aircraft with crew is the fastest way for an airline to add capacity without waiting years for new deliveries.

The news comes on a difficult day for PIA's Gulf network: the airline has suspended Riyadh flights and 42 flights were cancelled across Pakistan's airports after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia (our report).

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If you are buying pounds for travel or sending money from the UK, today's pound to rupee rate is on our data page, and the currency converter works out any amount. We will update this story when PIA publishes the 787 schedule.