Tycoon Lucio Tan’s group has officially regained control over Philippine Airlines from San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and appointed the carrier’s former president to take over operations.
Jaime Bautista, who was PAL’s former president before the entry of SMC, was designated on September 15 as the airline’s general manager.
“The first step is to go back and review where we stand and plot a new direction,” Bautista said, adding “We will also re-evaluate existing programs without reinventing the wheel.”
Bautista said part of the plan involves determining the best use of PAL’s existing fleet and looking at “most prudent” choices in terms of mapping out new routes.
PAL’s president Ramon Ang will remain in his post only until October.
In 2012, SMC bought its stake in the flag carrier from Tan for $500 million, giving the conglomerate management control of PAL and affiliate Air Philippines.
Recently, San Miguel Equity Investments signed an agreement selling back its stake in PAL and Air Philippine Corp. for a combined $1 billion to the Lucio Tan group.
PAL in the second quarter of this year returned to profitability from being in the red for many years.
Photo from PAL’s Facebook page
