(Bloomberg) -- Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. named customer chief Ronald Lam as its new chief executive officer to replace Augustus Tang. 

Lam, 50, will take over on Jan. 1, Cathay said in a statement Wednesday. He faces the challenge of leading the 76-year-old carrier out of the mire caused by Covid travel restrictions, which plunged it into crisis and sparked a HK$39 billion ($5 billion) recapitalization backed by the Hong Kong government. 

Cathay’s announcement confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report on Lam’s appointment as CEO.

“I have been impressed by his long-term vision for the company, his intellect, and his determination to see the group succeed. He is without doubt ready to lead our organization,” Cathay Pacific Chairman Patrick Healy said in a statement.

The airline said Lam will lead the airline through its post-Covid recovery and into a new phase of expansion with the addition of a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport.

Lam joined Cathay as a trainee in 1996 and rose up the ranks to become joint-second-in-command, serving as chief customer and commercial officer, overseeing the bulk of the airline’s commercial and revenue-generating activities. He is also chairman of Cathay’s budget carrier HK Express.

“Lam is the obvious choice given his experience and what will be required to successfully navigate Cathay Pacific in the post-pandemic era and improve the group’s long-term position,” Singapore-based aviation consultant Brendan Sobie said.

In the depths of the pandemic, Cathay was only operating at about 2% of its usual passenger capacity due to Hong Kong’s strict curbs on travel, including mandatory hotel quarantine of as long as 21 days. The government has recently eased those rules, leading to a jump in air travel, though Cathay is still operating at about only 16% of pre-Covid levels, compared with 73% for regional rival Singapore Airlines Ltd. Cathay has lost more than HK$33 billion since early 2020.

“This will not be an easy job for Lam by any imagination,” Sobie said. “But Cathay Pacific has a very strong brand and very strong shareholders so it will eventually emerge from the challenges of the last few years.”

Tang took over from Rupert Hogg as CEO in 2019, facing the fallout of anti-government protests in Hong Kong that ensnared the airline and led to a drop in travel to the city. Only a few months later, Covid came. 

While Tang ends a 40-year career at Cathay, which the airline described as a retirement, he will join main shareholder John Swire & Sons in Hong Kong in a new role on the same day as Lam starts as CEO next year.

In 2019, Lam led the takeover and integration of HK Express and he now oversees the airline’s Covid recovery taskforce. He also devised an e-commerce pivot to promote non-airline activities under a single Cathay brand.

The appointment of Lam as CEO is likely to maintain Cathay’s focus on customer experience as it increases capacity into 2023, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Zhu said.

In other changes to senior management, chief operations and service delivery officer Greg Hughes, 61, will also retire and be succeeded by 50-year-old Alex McGowan from April 1, 2023. McGowan is currently the airline’s director of service delivery -- which oversees functions such as cabin crew. Lavinia Lau, 52, succeeds Lam as chief customer and commercial officer. 

(Adds comment from Cathay chairman in fourth paragraph.)

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.