HER POWER: Ryna Brito-Garcia flies high as the millennial CEO of Sunlight Air
Search “airline executive” online, and a typical image would usually appear in the results—often a middle-aged man in a power suit—but Ryna Brito-Garcia isn’t your typical CEO.
She may be a young millennial barely in her 30s, but Ryna’s experience defies age as she sits at the helm of the country’s premier boutique airline. While aviation largely remains traditional, this change-making chief has set a new standard for an industry ready for change.
“I actually started my work in Australia with several internships, as most people go through,” said Brito-Garcia, the barely 30-year-old CEO of Sunlight Air, the Philippines’ premier boutique airline. She explored fashion, retail, and e-commerce (among others) before landing in her destination: the Sunlight Group.
“My main project was to digitalize the retail space when e-commerce wasn’t that big in the Philippines yet. After a year or so, I then transitioned into hospitality, and my main focuses were on sales, marketing, and operations,” Brito-Garcia narrated.
She’s the first to admit it’s “very far off” from where she ended up today, but these seemingly disparate experiences in her career’s initial ascent gave her a unique perspective when she eventually began her latest pursuit of #BringingWarmthtotheSkies.
Taxiing on the runway
Aviation, an industry long dominated by tradition and high barriers to entry, has become Brito-Garcia’s cockpit. For five years, she has helped redefine what it means to fly with Sunlight Air’s personalized, customer-centric experience and modern approach.
Anyone would think someone named C-Suite Insider’s CEO of the Year (Air Travel) in 2024 has always had it made, but breaking into aviation wasn’t easy—especially for an “outsider” like Brito-Garcia.
“The industry is very traditional. It’s heavily regulated, high in capital, and very small in the Philippines,” she noted. Bringing her new perspectives from the varied industries in her CV into such a structured environment came with its challenges.
“You really need to do everything you can, and back your decisions with data and experiences from other businesses, local and international, to prove that your decisions are actually worth trying,” she stated. And back her decisions, she did.
In everything that we do, we get pieces of knowledge and experiences, and put it all together as [our] strength.
Experiencing turbulence
One of the defining moments of Brito-Garcia’s leadership came very early in her role as head of Sunlight Air. When they officially launched in 2020, COVID-19 also hit the country hard.
“Obviously, no crazy person would do that. But timelines just happened, and we ended up launching the airline during the pandemic,” she recalled. Rather than seeing it as a setback, Brito-Garcia took it as an opportunity to innovate. “That’s when we launched the Travel Bubble package (now Sunlight Air Vacations)—an end-to-end travel experience where you can book your hotel, airline, and tours all in one platform to lessen the touch points of all our passengers.” It was just one of the many things that proved her mettle in the highly competitive space.
In the early days of Sunlight Air, Brito-Garcia wore multiple hats. “In the beginning, when I first started with the airline, we were a team of three. So it really needed somebody who could do everything—marketing, operations, handling regulatory bodies, liaising…” she continued. As the company evolved, however, so did her approach to leadership.
Cruising at altitude
“Now, having enough team members handling different functions, I’ve learned to delegate and focus on making sure that everybody in the team is aligned with the company’s vision and goals,” Brito-Garcia said.
Her leadership philosophy is deeply rooted in collaboration. “For certain decisions within the organization, as much as possible, we try to involve everybody in the team. With this collaborative culture, we’re able to [establish] accountability [because] they feel [they’re] a part of the growth of the company.”
Preparing for landing
Today, Sunlight Air has carved a niche by offering a customer experience that is currently unique to the airline. “The prime strategy that we use in order to always innovate is ensuring that we listen to what our passengers need,” she shared. “On a bi-weekly basis, the entire management committee goes through all the feedback we receive. From there, we adjust and adapt our strategies.”
This careful yet agile approach has allowed Sunlight Air to continue growing in its space despite difficulties. Brito-Garcia, for one, is proof of innovation. “There’s always that misconception that someone who isn’t from the industry doesn’t fully understand what’s best for the business, but I think the fresh perspective actually becomes a strength for the company.”
The layover to the next destination
While Brito-Garcia believes in going full speed ahead, she has also come to understand the importance of balance.
“In the first three years, I always pushed myself to work. If I wasn’t working, I felt I wasn’t doing enough, or I wasn’t doing a good job,” she confessed. It’s a shared experience—not just for women but for most of Brito-Garcia’s millennial generation. But, over time, she realized the cost of burnout.
“I realized that if I didn’t take care of myself, that wouldn’t do the company any good. It would reflect on how I lead and inspire the team.”
Entering her fifth year as CEO, she’s now learned to prioritize personal time and consider self-care essential. “On weekdays, I’m working, so I put a lot of importance on how I spend my weekends, whether with family and friends or alone. I used to dive every weekend, but my job entails meeting a lot of people on the daily, so I’ve come to a point wherein I need a lot of quiet time—staying at home, watching shows, listening to music…”
Navigating warmer skies
Aviation has long been perceived as a male-dominated industry, with women often confined to roles as flight attendants rather than pilots or executives. However, Brito-Garcia has seen change firsthand. “In the first two years, I noticed it, but today, I see a lot of women who are pilots, women in managerial positions. I think, slowly, women are starting to break that barrier.”
Brito-Garcia’s hope—both as a woman and as a CEO—is to use her platform to inspire. She encourages women, especially young ones like her, to dream of leadership despite grappling with inevitable self-doubt. “Trust yourself—your skills, experiences, and capabilities. Don’t let doubts and uncertainty stop you from trying. Because it’s only when you try that you actually get to achieve your dreams and goals.”
At the end of a long day, Brito-Garcia works toward leaving one lasting legacy—not even in her industry, but just as a woman. “I hope that women can feel empowered enough that their gender never becomes a barrier to anything they want to do in their life,” she stated.
In an industry that demands valuing tradition while adapting in the face of change, Ryna Brito-Garcia has proven that leadership is not about coming from a specific background—it’s about making the most of opportunity. As Sunlight Air continues to soar, so does her impact on the future of aviation and women in leadership.
This Women's Month, PhilSTAR L!fe celebrates four women achievers who aren't just achieving success—they're defining it. These women hold the most senior leadership positions in their respective companies, proving that gender is no barrier to reaching the top.
To truly capture the depth and impact of their achievements, L!fe will be featuring each of these extraordinary women in individual stories throughout the month. Their stories serve as powerful inspiration for Filipinas aspiring to excel in any field.
