Air21 President Lina joins PAL board

By FIL C. SIONIL
August 27, 2010, 12:59am
Manila Bulletin

Air21 president Alberto Lina has joined Philippine Airlines (PAL) 15 man board as an independent director.

PAL made this announcement shortly after its annual stockholders meeting Thursday, wherein Lucio Tan and Jaime Bautista were re-elected chairman and re-apppointed president and chief operating officer, respectively.

This as the flag carrier waived the rebooking penalty on tickets issued in Hong Kong for those intending to fly back ahead of schedule.

This decision was made as a result of the travel advisory issued by Hongkong authorities arising from the Monday carnage.

However, PAL stressed that such tickets "must have been issued in Hongkong."
Meanwhile, aside from Lina the other members of the PAL board include Harry C. Tan, Antonio L. Alindongan, Enrique Cheng, Joseph T. Chua, Gloriap Tan-Climaco, Estelito P. Mendoza, Cesar N. Santos, Henry So Uy, Washington Sycip, Lucio Tan, Jr., Michael Tan, and Charles C. Chante.
Bautista cited Lina’s “experience in air travel and logistics solutions” as among the considerations in his appointment as independent director of the flag carrier.

On its operations, Bautista said that amidst the prevailing situation PAL is steadfast on its objective of improving its bottomline. “While the aviation industry is showing signs of slow recovery, PAL remains focused on continuing efforts to generate more revenues and control costs.”

Palal’s first quarter performance, covering April to June, 2010 showed an 11 percent slide in comprehensive income to $31.6 million from $35.5 million in the same period the year past. The management hinted that the performance was better than expected by the industry largely due to the “usual strong demand during summer vacation.”

“PAL must swallow the bitter pills and handle its labor issues with utmost care to survive amidst difficult and cut-throat operating environment,” he said.