Captain Stanley Ng loves flying. It’s not just the thrill of coursing through a seemingly endless sky, or swaying across unpredictable weather, that enlivens his otherwise unruffled composure.
It’s everything about navigating thousands of pounds of metal above the ground: the mechanics, meteorology, aerodynamics, building trust among people, dealing with rain. All of it.
Without the poetry behind the profession, though, he has always thought that being a pilot was just, “cool.” In his younger years, he’d see pilots at airports getting the utmost respect from everyone, and he knew pilots live their lives seeing the most beautiful places all over the world.
Besides, he has always had it in him—even his friends think so. They found out about his skills while they were playing video games in high school.
“I’ve always wanted to become a pilot,” he tells MEGA Man. “However, I didn’t know anyone in aviation, anyone who could guide me. I didn’t think it was possible. But when I played video games with my friends, they would recognize my hand-eye coordination, and I would always win at those games. They actually encouraged me to try to become a pilot. But I forgot about it already.” It also didn’t help that his parents were “quite traditional,” and believed that having a business was the right path for him.
Following their wishes—at first—in 2002, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major in Computer Applications degree from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Manila. In fact, during his college years, he and a friend opened a small restaurant in Taft, Manila, an experience which Ng says was “good, but we didn’t really take it seriously.”
“I believed I’d just be happier doing what I wanted to do,” he recalls that moment when he decided he wanted to do away with traditions and glide by his own course. After serving as customer relations assistant for Philippine Airlines (PAL) for around one year, Ng enrolled at the Philippine Airlines Aviation School.
“That’s the plan for the rest of my life. I want to enjoy what I love doing.”
“NO” IS NOT AN ANSWER
If Ng were given a chance, he would talk about basketball for hours. He still engages in the sport, he reveals, though not as much as he would like to. As a matter of fact, in college, he wanted to become a professional player, but a knee injury ended that dream.
We tell him that dream is a long way from where he is standing now.
He snickers a bit before saying, “One thing I know is that I don’t really say ‘no’ to a lot of things.” When he is presented with a chance to try out a new venture, or maybe even a new hobby, his instinct, he says, is always to try. “I usually excel in those areas, too, if I try,” he says without an ounce of publicity bombast.
One thing we realized a few minutes into our conversation is that this man lays it on the line, though his words are carefully thought out. And if you waited long enough to make him feel comfortable, you’d see a glimpse of his child-like, risible side. When that comes out, it’s easier to imagine his revelation about his erstwhile sense of style composed of sneakers and ripped jeans.
When we meet up with Ng at the PAL Express office in Pasay City, he is clad in his light blue, long-sleeved cotton shirt, a pair of khakis, and leather shoes. Interestingly, at different hours into the shoot, we see him equally comfortable— or maybe, more amused—in an oversized Kenzo cardigan, a barocco embroidered Versace shirt, and a pinstriped suit from Miguel Manila.
Like he said, he doesn’t say “no” to a lot of things, not even clothes. But when he does say “no,” there must be serious discernment involved. Take for instance his current and new role as president and chief operating officer of Philippines Airlines.
He is the youngest person to have ever assumed the role, and the first pilot to do so since the 1960s. As the son-in-law of the flag carrier’s founder, business magnate Lucio Tan Sr., his ascent seemed like a natural progression, not to mention that he is more than qualified for the job. After graduating from aviation school, he served as second officer. Eventually, he was promoted to first officer for the Airbus 320, and later on, he became captain. Around 2015, he became a flight instructor and went on to head the training department for Airbus. Then, in 2019, he was promoted to senior vice president for operations. Recently, he took an advanced management program at the Harvard Business School.
But, last year, when he was asked for the first time to take this colossal task for the company, uncharacteristically, he said, “No.” He knew he was up to the challenge. But he wasn’t certain he was ready for everything in between: the complications, the politics, and all the unnecessary noise that comes with being one of the biggest names in the country’s aviation industry. Fortunately, growing up, he has learned not to put focus on himself. “I got a lot of support from the shareholders,” he reveals. “After a thorough reflection, in the end, I said, ‘Yes.’”
The work at hand is challenging, so much so, that the 43-year-old captain shrugs at being constantly labeled the youngest president of the airline.
He says, “I see this opportunity to give back to the Philippines, to be able to make a change. I always tell the people that it’s not just for PAL; it’s really about giving back to the Philippines because there are so many beautiful places here, and PAL is just an instrument to bring people here. We’re connecting people, as well as creating opportunities for people, so we can bring more Filipinos to see more places in the world, as well as bring all those foreigners and introduce them to the Philippines. That will help the economy of the Philippines, and eventually, it will be also good for the airline. I always look at the bigger picture of bringing economic activities in the country. There’s not so much focus on myself.”
SOARING HIGHER
Let’s go back to basketball. Because that’s where Ng takes us when we ask him about lifting an industry badly hit by the pandemic. (Obviously, the man has deep devotion to the sport.)
He’s been doing a pretty good job, so far, as reported by several news outlets, with PAL swinging to profitability in the past couple of months.
“I’m a very persistent and hardworking person,” he says. Then he begins the analogy: “Before, if we lost a basketball game, I would always question myself. I wouldn’t say anything after the loss, although I’d feel bad. But it’s really what happens after the game that matters. You train harder, you work out harder, and come back stronger. That has always been my attitude, no matter what.”
But more than the games he had played, he credits his experience of being captain and teaching for years for the kind of leader that he wants to become.
“I love teaching,” he reveals. As a teacher, he realized that there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for transferring knowledge to people because they have differing strengths and starting points. When he began managing a division, his passion for teaching
Being top of mind is good, but when they’re emotionally attached to the brand, they will keep choosing it.
grew stronger: “You’re free to explore, to find efficiencies, and balance the efficiencies, as well. You find fairness and that’s actually very powerful. You need integrity and they have to trust you. If they don’t trust you, then it’s done, you can’t lead anymore.”
The same level of trust, or even a higher level, is needed when he is flying planes: “The flying part, when you get the hang of it, becomes easier. But the decision-making part is crucial. You have to be prepared for any scenario all the time, and you need good fundamentals. The whole plane is dependent on you—all those lives are dependent on you.”
Now that he is leading the greatest number of people he has ever led, he needs to be more aggressive—an advantage, he admits, of being younger than his predecessors. As a pilot, he says, he was more governed by “traditional” methods. But his recent business management training at Harvard taught him that being steady may not always be the best option.
“You can’t be comfortable with where you are and what you’re doing today,” he explains. “You have to always look forward to what’s going to happen in a few years time. You have to continue to experiment, while continuing to manage your risks as you move forward.”
He’s starting with what he calls “small experiments,” especially with PAL’s digitalization process. Admittedly, he says other airlines have been on that track for a while already, but PAL is aiming to go further. “We want to actually be aligned with the industry standard and not play catch-up anymore,” he explains. Currently, they are focusing on data security and data privacy to protect everyone who is engaging with their company: the customers, the clients, the stakeholders, etc.
Their website is also undergoing improvements, and their booking system will be relaunched in early 2023. But one of their biggest goals next year is to know their customers better through data analysis.
“I always challenge that term, ‘data-driven,’” he says cautiously when we ask if we could use that exact term to describe him. “I don’t believe in being datadriven because data can’t make a decision for you. I’d rather use ‘data-informed.’ I love data so much, but the insight behind the data is more important. Everything still depends on your action, which can change the curve. Data is just there, but the analysis of that data has to come from a person—a person has to make the decision.”
The immediate goal, however, is to keep up with the demands of a travel-hungry public, who went through lockdowns and border closures during the height of the pandemic. With this, PAL is now “in the process” of getting more planes, finding new and more sensible routes, and connecting the Philippines to more places in the world.
He concludes, “You want to get a share of their heart, not just a share of their mind. Being top of mind is good, but when they’re emotionally attached to the brand, they will keep choosing it.”
Captain Stanley Ng is miles below from his second home above the clouds. But with the way things are going for the flagship airline, it seems like it could only soar higher if he stays on the ground for now.