Qantas airline CEO Alan Joyce announced his early retirement on Tuesday as the Australian carrier faces accusations of charging prohibitive fees for poor service.
Alan Joyce has run this long-standing national company for 15 years and, under his leadership, has made considerable profits and retained its dominant position.
But since the pandemic, the reputation of Qantas and its boss has taken a hit, following a wave of redundancies and rising prices, despite billions of Australian dollars poured in by the government.
8,000 tickets sold for canceled flights
Qantas is also under investigation for selling 8,000 tickets for previously canceled flights.
Alan Joyce, 57, was due to resign in November, but the company announced Monday that the date was moved up by two months. He will be succeeded by current CFO Vanessa Hudson.
“The events of the last few weeks have made me realize that the company must first be renewed,” Alan Joyce said in a press release.
“The best thing I can do in these circumstances is to anticipate my retirement and turn it over to Vanessa.”
Qantas registered an annual profit of 1,100 million dollars (1,000 million euros) in August, a significant financial recovery after two years of border closures due to Covid-19.
“One of the biggest messes in company history”
Under the leadership of Alan Joyce, the company drastically restructured to clean up its accounts, angering some employees who were fired or furloughed to cut costs.
Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine hailed the departure of Alan Joyce as “the first good decision” made by the company “in a long time”.
“Alan Joyce retires two months early, with a salary of 16 million dollars (14.83 million euros), leaving behind one of the biggest messes in the company’s history,” he declared.
Australia’s centre-left government has been caught up in the crisis, with critics saying Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to reject a Qatar Airways plan to increase flights to Australia was aimed at protecting Qantas’ profits and was harmful to passengers.
Anthony Albanese has denied any protectionist behavior.
Source: BFM TV
