Philippine Airlines on Monday named a former pilot as its new president and chief operating officer to guide the airline’s full recovery from Chapter 11 restructuring.
The airline, controlled by tycoon Lucio Tan, appointed Capt. Stanley Ng, formerly the senior vice president for airline operations, as new president and COO in an acting capacity. The appointment was made after the end of Gilbert Santa Maria’s engagement as president and COO following the successful completion of the Chapter 11 restructuring.
PAL said its board expressed gratitude to Santa Maria for his steady stewardship of the company over the last two and a half years. It said Santa Maria would continue to make himself available to assist in the leadership transition over the next few weeks.
“The board expressed full trust and confidence in Capt. Ng, as well as in its senior management team which remains intact, as the nation’s flag carrier looks to maintain the momentum toward full recovery,” PAL said.
An Airbus A320 commander, Capt. Ng is the first pilot to assume the presidency of PAL since the early 1960s. He brings to the job a wealth of experience in the airline industry.
Ng started as a member of the flag carrier’s on-ground staff in 2003 before training at the PAL Aviation School. He started flying in 2008 as a second officer and rose up the ranks until he was promoted to senior vice president in 2019 in charge of the airline’s internationally-respected pilots and cabin crew and operational airport and engineering teams.
Ng recently completed an Advance Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is married to Lilybeth Tan, a daughter of Lucio Tan.
He took up Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major in Computer Applications at the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde.
Ng said his priority is to contribute to the country’s transport infrastructure buildup and sustainable development and make PAL worthy of Filipinos’ enduring trust and support.
“Giving back to the Philippines, giving back to the society—that’s really my purpose; not really trying to make a profit, a lot of profit out of PAL, but it’s really more of the purpose to continue providing the best service the Filipinos deserve,” he said in a separate statement.
The US Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York earlier approved the reorganization plan of PAL after receiving creditor support throughout the process.
The plan provides for over $2 billion in permanent balance sheet reductions from creditors, allows PAL to consensually contract fleet capacity by 25 percent, improves PAL’s critical operational agreements and includes $505-million investment in long-term equity and debt financing from PAL’s majority shareholder.
“My part in the Chapter 11 filing was operations and safety. So, we’re able to actually perform well. In terms of operational safety, our standards are really high,” Ng said.