Another proud moment in the history of Philippine Airlines. Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines, flew on a presidential Philippine Airlines flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to attend the ASEAN 2022 event. The Presidential flight, however, was piloted by none other than the PAL President and COO himself, Capt. Stanley Ng who served as Pilot-In-Command.
Assisting Capt. Ng in the flight deck of Flight PR 001were Capt. Antonio Salgado Jr. and Capt. Gallardo Ibarra Jr., while Pursers Monique Francois Gloria and Aimee Vijandre headed the crew of seven flight attendants.
On the flight were also First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and the official Philippine Delegation.
Capt. Ng is the first active pilot to serve as the flag carrier’s top executive since the 1960s, having risen to the position after an 18-year career with the airline.
However, on November 9, the PAL President was given the unique task of flying the country’s Commander-in-Chief for the two and a half hour flight from Manila to Cambodia’s capital city.
An honor and privilege to serve as pilots for Presidential flight
“It is an honor and a privilege for me and my crew to serve as the pilots of this Presidential flight, and I am truly grateful for the trust and confidence,” said Capt. Ng. “We were 100% dedicated to making sure the President and his team had a safe and pleasant journey. This was another opportunity to be of service to the nation by flying the flag on an important mission.”
The presidential flight, utilizing an Airbus A321neo, took off from NAIA Terminal 2 at 5:15 p.m. on November 9. The Philippine President conducted interviews with members of the traveling media while flying to Cambodia.
At 6:47 PM Cambodian local time, PR001 landed at Phnom Penh International Airport.
While in Phnom Penh, the President attended his first ASEAN leaders summit and met with the leaders of ASEAN member states and other partner countries.
On November 13, the presidential delegation flew home from Phnom Penh at 08:46 PM local time, with Capt. Ng and his crew once again in command, and arrived in Manila at 12:14 AM.
From a Customer Service Representative to Chief Pilot to President
Captain Ng began her career with PAL in 2003 as an airport customer service representative. He then completed his PAL aviation school Ab Initio Cadet Pilot training and joined the pilot roster as a Second Officer in 2006. He worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming Chief Pilot of the PAL Airbus A320/A321 fleet.
Captain Ng joined the flag carrier’s top management team as Senior Vice President of the Operations Group before being named President and COO in January 2022.
Since the first state mission carrying President Elpidio Quirino in August 1949, Philippine Airlines has flown Philippine Presidents on overseas trips.
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