Alan Joyce’s early resignation as head of Qantas Airways Ltd. is an ignominious exit for one of aviation’s most visible leaders , the airline previously claimed to have sold thousands of tickets for the canceled flights.
Qantas said in a statement on Tuesday that Joyce, who was due to hand over to chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson in November, will leave on September 6. As regulators intensify their focus on Qantas’ dominance of the Australian aviation market, she is now tasked with repairing the airline’s tarnished reputation with customers.
Hudson’s premature succession shows the airline capitulating to public anger over last year’s alleged sale of seats on flights that will never fly. The scandal is the latest in a series of blows to Qantas’ reputation in recent months, amplified by the airline’s record profits.
“The focus on Qantas and past events over the past few weeks has made it clear to me that the company needs to make its renewal a priority,” Joyce, 57, said in a statement.
Shares in Qantas rose 0.5 per cent in early Sydney trade on Tuesday.
Joyce’s unexpected departure after 15 years at the helm is an extraordinary concession, and he will formally bid farewell at the airline’s annual shareholder meeting in a few weeks.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission August 31 Sue Qantas Qantas is said to continue to collect fees from ticket sales for more than 8,000 canceled flights between May and July 2022. On average, Qantas continues to sell tickets for more than two weeks, and sometimes more than a month, the regulator said.
It also allegedly took weeks for Qantas to inform ticketholders of more than 10,000 flights that their services had been cancelled. If the case is proven in court, regulators could impose a record fine of more than A$250 million ($162 million).
Allegations that Qantas sold fake seats to passengers ultimately overwhelmed the airline without trying to limit the damage. Joyce, who has been the public face of Qantas for years, has come under scrutiny for the airline’s level of reliability and the retention of credit for customers’ coronavirus flights.
Pressure mounts after Joyce sacking bake Last week, a parliamentary committee questioned Qantas’ record profits during the cost of living crisis.
Joyce spent nearly his entire tenure as a ruthless, hard-edged executive who rarely bowed to criticism.
He has been a lightning rod for public outrage since he grounded Qantas’ entire fleet in 2011 to resolve a domestic labor dispute. A string of costs and layoffs has made him enemies within the union movement and his own workforce, even as his ability to consistently deliver unprecedented profitability and cash for shareholders has won over investors and the board.
“Joyce’s departure is great news for workers,” Michael Caine, national secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union, said in a statement. “In fact, this is the first correct decision by the Qantas board in a long time. Joyce will retire two months early, leaving behind one of the greatest disruptions in Australian corporate history.”
Joyce’s eventual softening of the decision reflects the scale of the challenge Qantas is currently facing.
“This transition is clearly a challenging time for Qantas and its people,” Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said in a statement. “We have an important job to do. , is to restore public confidence in our company.”
Airlines are grappling with a sudden rebound in demand for much of 2022 as Covid-19 travel restrictions ease. Flight cancellations have soared due to airline staff and aircraft shortages. Passenger anger reached its peak in July last year when eggs and toilet paper were hurled at Mr Joyce’s Sydney home.
Qantas’ record profits for the financial year to June 2023 have inevitably drawn accusations from union opponents that the airline is overcharging passengers in the interests of shareholders and top management. Joyce’s enemies are skeptical of his attempts to rebalance the balance with 1 million cut-price tickets and donating 1 billion loyalty points to frequent fliers.
Australian government decides to block Qatar Airways’ application to operate more flights to Australia – citing national interest of the country – also damages the Qantas brand.Joyce had argued that providing extra flights to Middle Eastern airlines would distort the market.
Tuesday’s announcement means Rob Marcolina has become Qantas’ chief financial officer earlier than expected.
Svlook
