MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- Philippine Airlines announced Thursday it is shutting down, but the nation's president plans to meet with management and the striking pilots' union in a last-ditch effort to keep it afloat.

Asia's oldest airline, Philippine Airlines started in 1941 with one plane that carried five passengers on a 125-mile (200-kilometer) flight from Manila to Baguio. Fifty-seven years later, it is shutting down its fleet of 54 aircraft that fly routes to 36 domestic destinations and 28 world cities.

In June, the airline's 600 pilots staged a 22-day strike over pay and working conditions. PAL already was beset by troubles and had been struggling through five years of financial troubles when the Asian economic crisis hit this past year.

The airline laid off 5,000 of its 13,000 workers in response to the pilots' strike. Last week, the union rejected management's final offer, opening the way for PAL Chairman and majority shareholder Lucio Tan to shut down the country's only major airline.

On his way to Thursday's final board meeting, Tan said that it was all over: "No more. Closed. They don't like it," he said, referring to the union's rejection of the airline's latest settlement offer.

Philippine President Joseph Estrada called a meeting with PAL management and union representatives in an attempt to keep the airline open, warning that its closure will further damage the nation's crippled economy. Estrada said he would meet with management on Friday and hold a joint meeting with both sides on Monday to try to reach a compromise solution.

"I am keeping my fingers crossed. I am going to do all I can do so that PAL will not close down," Estrada said.

In a press conference Friday morning, Union leaders said Estrada is the only hope for resolving the labor problems and that they are keeping the doors open for a settlement.

PAL also said Estrada is the only hope for saving the airline.

However, the government itself is under a severe financial crunch and has made it clear it will not use its own scarce financial resources to save the airline.

Reuters Limited contributed to this report.