IN a bar high above Hong Kong harbour, Alan Joyce cradles a vodka and tonic as if it were an old friend.
The Qantas chief has just flown in from New York
Which airline did he fly? QF don't fly JFK-HKG, unless he flew by private jet oooorr CX.
Dixon reveals that Qantas almost lost Joyce in around 2005 when he contemplated moving back to Europe after setting up Qantas' low-cost carrier, Jetstar. "Alan came up to me one day and said, 'I have a great offer from a European carrier to start up a low-cost carrier with them. It is a good opportunity for me to be closer to my family and I'm going to take it,'?" recalls Dixon. Dixon gave him a sealed letter and told him to open it on the plane to Europe. The letter offered Joyce a big pay rise and promised him a golden future at Qantas.
What a shame we didn't lose him. We'd have been far better off without him. It must have been some massive pay increase to stay at QF, and the chance to finish off what Dixon started.
I read the rest of the "infomercial" and just shook my head. What else can one do when these people are very deluded about themselves?