FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. said Tuesday it reinstated two key positions as part of its move to strengthen the airline’s leadership team amid a highly competitive environment.
PAL Holdings Inc. said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board of directors approved the reinstatement of the position of chief commercial officer and the appointment of Eric David Anderson to the position with the rank of senior vice president.
The airline said a CCO “would help bring synergy and strategic focus to PAL’s commercial departments”.
Anderson previously served as PAL’s vice president for revenue management and strategy and brings years of leadership experience as director for revenue management and planning at Amerijet International Airlines in the US, finance manager for customer service operations for Amazon Japan and director for global cargo strategy, alliances and product for Delta Air Lines.
The board in the same meeting also approved the reinstatement of the position of executive vice president who will report to the president and chief operating officer to ensure that PAL’s operations are carried out in accordance with the business plan of the company.
The appointments came three months since Lucio Tan III assumed the position of president of PAL Holdings, the parent company of PAL, in May 2023.
Tan took over the post from his grandfather Lucio Tan who retained his role as PAL Holdings chairman and chief executive.
Tan has taken other significant management actions since his appointment. In July, PAL appointed Anna Isabel Villanueva-Bengzon as chief financial officer.
Before joining PAL, Bengzon was the highly experienced deputy CFO of Global Business Power Corp. of Meralco PowerGen until July 2023.
She has also worked as CFO for MediaQuest Holdings Inc., TV5 Network Inc. and Metropac Movers Inc. and as VP/head of investor relations at PLDT.
Tan also initiated the investment in a new fleet of long-haul aircraft to anchor PAL’s global network as shown in the purchase of nine Airbus A350-1000 new-generation aircraft in June.
“PAL is on a recovery track and is now in a position to carry out major product and digital transformation initiatives in order to grow amid a more competitive and challenging aviation industry,” Tan said.
PAL said it is on a “recovery track” after posting a 194-percent increase in second-quarter net income on the back of higher passenger volume. The airline booked a net income of $141 million from April to June, almost tripling the $47.9-million profit it earned in the same period last year.
This brought the flag carrier’s total income in the first half to $250 million, up 257 percent from $70 million a year ago.