PAL Holdings Inc. announced Thursday the appointment of the grandson and namesake of tycoon Dr. Lucio Tan as its new president.
The parent firm of Philippine Airlines and Air Philippines named Lucio Tan III as its president, taking over the post from his grandfather who retained his role as the company’s chairman and chief executive.
LT Group, the listed holding company of the tycoon, earlier named the younger Tan as its president, replacing his uncle Michael Tan.
“As the newly-designated president of PAL Holdings, I am committed to providing stability and upholding the highest level of integrity within the company. I look forward to working closely with the PAL team, under the leadership of its president and chief operating officer, Capt. Stanley Ng, to ensure a collaborative and cohesive approach in serving the best interests of our customers,” the eldest son of the late Lucio Tan II said.
“We also aim to safeguard our shareholders’ investments by fostering a culture of transparency, accountability and long-term value creation,” he said.
PAL Holdings registered consolidated operating income of P17 billion in 2022, a turnaround from an operating loss of P4 billion in 2021.
The company attributed the turnaround to the implementation of PAL’s financial restructuring plan and the increased demand for air travel with the reopening of travel borders.
“I am grateful to our shareholders, our customers, the flying public, for their trust and support. We face major challenges just the same. We need to rebuild our product and our fleet. Philippine Airlines needs to be a stronger competitor and a leader in service and innovation,” the oldest Tan said.
PAL Holdings’ consolidated revenues jumped by 137 percent to P139 billion in 2022 from P59 billion in 2021 as the number of passengers increased 214 percent to 9.31 million from 2.97 million.
PAL recently inaugurated the Manila-Perth nonstop service and reopened routes between the Philippines and points in mainland China.
PAL, with an extensive domestic network anchored on its gateway hubs in Manila, Cebu and Davao, is the only airline operating nonstop flights from the Philippines to the United States and Canada. It also has the largest network of flights from Manila to multiple cities in the Middle East, Japan and Australia.
PHI is the parent firm of PAL and Air Philippines Corp.. It is a member of the Lucio Tan Group of Companies.