Philippine Airlines’ president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista is retiring after more than two decades at the flag carrier.
Bautista is stepping down to spend more time with his family, the airline said.
He spent 13 years as president during two spells.
He will be replaced by Vivienne Tan, who assumes the role of officer in charge.
She is the daughter of the airline’s owner Lucio Tan and becomes one of the small select group of women to lead a major airline.
She plans to continue growing the airline as it revamps its fleet and adds routes.
"On behalf of my father, I am asking all of you to continue working toward our goals. I am personally committed to working with all of you hand in hand and build on what we have already accomplished," Tan said in a statement.
In 2016 Bautista had set in motion a five-year strategy to turn the flag carrier into a five-star carrier.
It was upgraded to four stars by Skytrax last year and this week was awarded the world’s most improved airline.
It is now ranked 30th out of the 100 airlines around the world, marking a jump of 19 places since last year.
Bautista said he hopes PAL will ‘continue focusing on providing the best service to passengers and to continue implementing good governance.’
