Philippine Airlines on Monday (31 January) named Stanley Ng, a pilot and son-in-law of the company’s billionaire owner Lucio Tan, as its acting president and chief operating officer. The 42-year-old replaces Gilbert Santa Maria who is stepping down just two and a half years into the job, having helped the carrier survive the pandemic and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process in the U.S., which was completed in December.
Ng is the first pilot to assume the Philippine Airlines presidency since the early 1960s. He started in the company’s ground staff in 2003, began flying in 2008 and was the airline’s senior vice president for operations until his new appointment. He is the husband of Tan’s daughter Lilybeth. Ng is taking over a leaner airline after the bankruptcy process that saw US$2 billion of its liabilities forgiven, 25 percent of its fleet cut and roughly a third of its workforce slashed. But Ng inherits the daunting mission of reviving the Philippines’ flag carrier, which had been struggling with losses even before the pandemic, according to media reports.
Ng’s appointment is the latest in a series of leadership changes over the last three years at the airline, which is partly owned by Japan’s ANA Holdings. Prior to Santa Maria’s appointment in July 2019, Tan and his daughter Vivienne briefly took charge after the abrupt retirement of Jaime Bautista, the airline’s longtime president and Tan associate.
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