Philippine Airlines on Monday said it appointed former pilot Stanley Ng, its senior vice president for airline operations as its new president and chief operating officer capacity in an officer-in-charge (OIC) capacity.

The appointment was made after the end of Gilbert Sta. Maria’s term as resident and COO following the recent successful completion of the Chapter 11 restructuring.

The board expressed its gratitude to Sta. Maria for leading PAL over the last two and a half years.

" 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, Ng is the first pilot to assume the presidency of PAL since the early 1960s.

According to Ng, his priority is contributing to the country’s transport infrastructure buildup and sustainable development and making Philippine Airlines worthy of Filipinos’ 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.

The plan provides for over $2 billion in permanent balance sheet reductions from existing creditors, allows PAL to 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. DMS