Singapore Airlines, the world’s second-largest carrier by market value, named Goh Choon Phong as chief executive officer, replacing Chew Choon Seng, who retires when his contract expires at the end of the year.

Goh, 47, will take charge on Jan. 1, according to a statement the airline sent to the Singapore stock exchange today. Goh, currently executive vice president for marketing and regions as well as chairman of the SilkAir regional unit, will join the airline’s board Oct. 1.

 

The executive will inherit a carrier that’s facing rising competition from Emirates Airline for lucrative business traffic and from AirAsia Bhd. and Jetstar for cost-conscious leisure travelers. He will also need to bring back capacity that was cut during last year’s global recession without swamping demand.

 

“The challenge is balancing capacity and yields and that’s going to be critical going into 2011 for airlines,” K. Ajith, an analyst at UOB-Kay Hian Research Pte in Singapore, said before the announcement. “Singapore Air has done a pretty good job so far, but global economies are slowing and yields will likely remain flat next year.”

 

Singapore Air advanced 0.5% to $15.60 at the close of trading in the city-state today. The announcement was made after the market closed for trading.