Slán Alan , hello ....

[ShandywithSugar]

Australian Aviation reporting the interviewing has begun.

Even some speculation within business circles the pace has increased for the departure.

Who's it going to be......

[PoppaJo]

I think the odds for the CFO is about $1.00 isn’t it?

[Al E. Vator]

Original front-runner was apparently former PM Scott Morrison (who will vacate his seat shortly) given his multiple diplomatic and portfolio skills.

However given his proven financial acumen, front-runner is now US Investment banker Bernard Madoff. He is adept at growing a company based on aging/non-existent assets as well as handsomely rewarding executives. Naysayers aside, the documentary ’Weekend at Bernie’s’ accurately depicts that a corporate figurehead can be effectively used by a board for their own ends, regardless of the individual’s state of being.

[davidclarke]

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1014x937/02bbf3e4_6e88_439b_99a6_22e4507c0395_9cda139ec715f759b0cfd46 5e843a929969269e4.jpeg
The mad king is finally at the end of his reign. Can’t come soon enough…….

[cLeArIcE]

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1014x937/02bbf3e4_6e88_439b_99a6_22e4507c0395_9cda139ec715f759b0cfd46 5e843a929969269e4.jpeg
The mad king is finally at the end of his reign. Can’t come soon enough…….
Let's be honest, if they replace him from within its just going to be more of the same (maybe worse). Would take a complete replacement of the management team and the board to change the attitude of QF to it's staff and customers.

[Chris2303]

Just remember the very old saying "be careful what you wish for"

[davidclarke]

Just remember the very old saying "be careful what you wish for"


He has systematically destroyed the company over the last decade. Can it really get any worse………?

[Ken Borough]

Is Cam Wallace the dark horse in this race? He seems to be flying below the radar.

[Chris2303]

He has systematically destroyed the company over the last decade. Can it really get any worse………?

A question or a challenge??

[ScepticalOptomist]

He has systematically destroyed the company over the last decade. Can it really get any worse………?

Thats what we said when GD was departing.

The answer was “yes”.

[gordonfvckingramsay]

Thats what we said when GD was departing.

The answer was “yes”.

Much worse and there might not be a company left. Whoever takes over will have to be a VERY good negotiator as he/she/they will have to get the staff back on side without spooking the investors. A wrong step either way will cause one or the other to abandon the company, with catastrophic results.

[ShandywithSugar]

I would be very confident of external.

Elizabeth Gaines or Christine Holgate would be my bet. However Cam Wallace is definitely a quiet horse in this race.

Alan has said it should be a women. It should be who's the best for the bloody job.

Gordon , absolutely.

[Lead Balloon]

As Warren Buffet knows, all airlines are essentially Ponzi Schemes. The ones which survive in the long term do so only because they are government-subsidised or government-protected or both.

Therefore, ‘managing’ an airline as a ‘commercial business’ is essentially an exercise in smoke and mirrors, attracting people who are very good at smoke and mirrors. In the short term.

I’ll call Qantas a business which should be paying millions to a CEO on the day Warren Buffet invests more than a peppercorn in it.

[gordonfvckingramsay]

As Warren Buffet knows, all airlines are essentially Ponzi Schemes. The ones which survive in the long term do so only because they are government-subsidised or government-protected or both.

Therefore, ‘managing’ an airline as a ‘commercial business’ is essentially an exercise in smoke and mirrors, attracting people who are very good at smoke and mirrors. In the short term.

I’ll call Qantas a business which should be paying millions to a CEO on the day Warren Buffet invests more than a peppercorn in it.

This has only come about because of the mistaken belief that a business can continue to enjoy double digit growth year on year; a deception which investors blindly believe. There has never been an example of this occurring in any sustainable way…..ever. Everyone affording to fly is a fallacy.

[blubak]

Just remember the very old saying "be careful what you wish for"
Very true,theres no doubt that 1 of his female supporters is a very ruthless piece of work,think about the letter 'O' as 1 of her initials!

[Seabreeze]

Very true,theres no doubt that 1 of his female supporters is a very ruthless piece of work,think about the letter 'O' as 1 of her initials!
As far as I can figure out that person has no experience in aviation operations either prior to or within QF. Simply kneeling down and listening to AJ pontificate will not be sufficient.

[brokenagain]

As far as I can figure out that person has no experience in aviation operations either prior to or within QF.

Just like the current JQ CEO.

[dejapoo]

Much worse and there might not be a company left. Whoever takes over will have to be a VERY good negotiator as he/she/they will have to get the staff back on side without spooking the investors. A wrong step either way will cause one or the other to abandon the company, with catastrophic results.

Abandon the company? Spare me. Pol Pot could run this place and nobody (QAL employees anyway) would get off the gravy train. What drivel.

[Thirsty]

I would be very confident of external.

Elizabeth Gaines or Christine Holgate would be my bet. However Cam Wallace is definitely a quiet horse in this race.

Alan has said it should be a women. It should be who's the best for the bloody job.

Gordon , absolutely.Why would Christine Holgate leave her current job where she is economically demolishing the Australia Post board so thoroughly where it hurts the most - in the hip pocket? Have you listened to the video where she gives her life story yet?

...Revenge is a dish served cold, very cold, delivered in a Toll sachet....

[gordonfvckingramsay]

Abandon the company? Spare me. Pol Pot could run this place and nobody (QAL employees anyway) would get off the gravy train. What drivel.

QAL aren’t the only stakeholders in this company mate. Shareholders will leave as soon as the gravy train starts running out of gravy, such is the speculative mentality of investors. The multitude of peripheral companies (which appear to be the intended future core of the airline) are now suffering the effects of their hugely successful attacks on pay and conditions during recent EB’s, and are now unable to find suitable numbers of applicants to fill positions.

Then there are the passengers…if a safe, cheap, reliable service becomes available, the travelling public will certainly entertain the thought of abandoning this airline for something that fits the bill.

Drivel you say? Perhaps, but I would put a fifty on this being a real threat to the company going forward. Whoever ends up in the top job needs to bring one hell of an A game to get this place back on track and it can’t come soon enough.

[SIUYA]

Originally Posted by gordonfvckingramsay:

Then there are the passengers…if a safe, cheap, reliable service becomes available, the travelling public will certainly entertain the thought of abandoning this airline for something that fits the bill.

It's already happening gordon.....a lot of people have given up on the over-priced poor-quality service and are already choosing other more attractive offerings.

I'm headed to Europe next year, and despite having enough QF FF points for return fares, will not be travelling QF then, or ever again.

[Transition Layer]

Originally Posted by gordonfvckingramsay:



It's already happening gordon.....a lot of people have given up on the over-priced poor-quality service and are already choosing other more attractive offerings.

I'm headed to Europe next year, and despite having enough QF FF points for return fares, will not be travelling QF then, or ever again.
Can I please have your QF points then SIUYA?

[AerialPerspective]

I would be very confident of external.

Elizabeth Gaines or Christine Holgate would be my bet. However Cam Wallace is definitely a quiet horse in this race.

Alan has said it should be a women. It should be who's the best for the bloody job.

Gordon , absolutely.

Christine Holgate would be fantastic. She was shafted by Morrison and his band of crooked colleagues yet she ran AP very well and even franchisees and staff had posters up in their post offices saying “We stand with Christine”.

She could give the current QF management watches on her first day and say “When the big hand is in twelve and the small hand is in nine, time to f-ck off AND leave the watch behind as you exit the building!!”

[SIUYA]

Nice try TL :8

We are thinking of redeeming them for Woolies vouchers.

Aerial Perspective.......agree re Christine Holgate. And the idea of the watches for the QF (mis)management morons.

[Stationair8]

My pick number one pick:

Scott Morrison, take on the portfolio of CEO, HOFO, Check and Training along with marketing. Also give the staff a bit of that Hillsong touchy-feely love, god stuff as well.

others in the race,

Bob Hawke,
Allan Bond,
Gerry Harvey.

[cxflog]

My pick number one pick:

Scott Morrison, take on the portfolio of CEO, HOFO, Check and Training along with marketing. Also give the staff a bit of that Hillsong touchy-feely love, god stuff as well.

others in the race,

Bob Hawke,
Allan Bond,
Gerry Harvey.

I vote for Gerry Harvey, he’d be fantastic

[Pinky the pilot]

I vote for Gerry Harvey, he’d be fantastic

"Many a true word has been spoken in jest!"

[The Love Doctor]

My pick number one pick:

Scott Morrison, take on the portfolio of CEO, HOFO, Check and Training along with marketing. Also give the staff a bit of that Hillsong touchy-feely love, god stuff as well.

others in the race,

Bob Hawke,
Allan Bond,
Gerry Harvey.
And Clive Palmer. He would be perfect

[Taildragger67]

I vote for Gerry Harvey, he’d be fantastic
Well he's still alive, for a start.

[tossbag]

We are thinking of redeeming them for Woolies vouchers.

Yeah/nah. You'll be using those points on Qantas guaranteed.

[SIUYA]

No, we definitely won't Tossbag.

If you compare the cost of the (so-called) QF deals against other alternatives, there's no way we are going to waste the QF FF points flying Qantas, and I've now had enough bad experiences with QF to never want to fly with them again.

[Pinky the pilot]

I'm headed back to the Land of the Rising Sun next month for the first time since Covid hit and I'm booked with Qantas.

This will be, I think, the 13th trip there and all but the first three were with Qantas, the first lot were JAL.

Must admit that the JAL trips were all great; once got a free upgrade to First Class:ok: and I didn't ask for it. It was offered to me.
But only one of the Qantas flights was, at first, looking to be not enjoyable.:ooh: On one trip back home I had a pinched nerve in my back which made any twisting or cramped position sheer agony, and despite requesting a seat with suitable leg room when checking in at Narita for the flight home, I found myself in a seat right up against a bulkhead separating Cattle Class from Business with virtually no leg room whatsoever!!:ugh:

As the A/C was taxiing out for departure I called to a passing Male F/A and explained my predicament. He could see from my expression that I was in severe pain and said that he thought he could do something for me. Could I please hang on until after T/O?

Shortly after T/O the F/A returned and said that he had another seat for me. It turned out to be an Exit row seat on the other side of the A/C and that I should stay there until after landing!:ok:

Needless to say, the pain levels were far more bearable. Errr... the complimentary bottles of Red that F/A ensured came my way did help somewhat...:D

[Fris B. Fairing]

The name of the new CEO is Hudson and her initials are VH. Dare we hope?

[ampclamp]

Vanessa Hudson it is.

[SHVC]

God help us all. All just to make a statement

[Capt Fathom]

It's not so much the CEO that can create problems, but the Board that enables them!

[Potsie Weber]

I imagine there’s 23000 odd staff who just let out a collective sigh of relief that at least it wasn’t the other named front runner.

[PoppaJo]

Was never going to be. For a $20b company you need to have touched finance in some form. For a $5b company perhaps not.

Jetstar still needs a CEO. Last time I checked nobody appears to be in that role?

[rowdy trousers]

It was always going to be a female. I wonder if any male types even applied, knowing that it would be a waste of their time?

[73to91]

Was surprised to read that she's been around for so long, I don't know why but I just thought she was a recent arrival.

She certainly has done the rounds re departments which is a good thing, was never front line though.

Internal Audit Supervisor > Financial Controller - Commercial Division > Qantas Catering Product Manager > General Manager Inflight Services > Executive Manager Product and Services > Executive Manager Commercial Planning > Senior Executive Vice President, The Americas > Executive Manager Sales and Distribution > Chief Customer Officer > Group Chief Financial Officer - Designate > Group Chief Financial Officer > CEO

[morno]

We can only hope she has at least some desire to be CEO of a world class airline, because it’s far from it at the moment and it’s embarrassing.

Don’t get the hopes too high because it’ll make the disappointment less shocking.

[dragon man]

Let’s be honest here, she is an insider so is she going to stop the 2 year wage freeze to get the staff back on side? The answer is no. Now for international the basket case of 10 x 380s getting long in the teeth, 25 I think 330s definitely long in the teeth and lastly 14 x 787s with no more on order. How much money needs to be spent to make Qantas internationally relevant again? I would suggest a fleet of 40 x 350s and 40/50 x 787s would do the job over the next 6/7 years but if they did that there could be no share buy backs or the massive executive bonuses. Same crap different day that’s all.

[dragon man]

I'm headed back to the Land of the Rising Sun next month for the first time since Covid hit and I'm booked with Qantas.

This will be, I think, the 13th trip there and all but the first three were with Qantas, the first lot were JAL.

Must admit that the JAL trips were all great; once got a free upgrade to First Class:ok: and I didn't ask for it. It was offered to me.
But only one of the Qantas flights was, at first, looking to be not enjoyable.:ooh: On one trip back home I had a pinched nerve in my back which made any twisting or cramped position sheer agony, and despite requesting a seat with suitable leg room when checking in at Narita for the flight home, I found myself in a seat right up against a bulkhead separating Cattle Class from Business with virtually no leg room whatsoever!!:ugh:

As the A/C was taxiing out for departure I called to a passing Male F/A and explained my predicament. He could see from my expression that I was in severe pain and said that he thought he could do something for me. Could I please hang on until after T/O?

Shortly after T/O the F/A returned and said that he had another seat for me. It turned out to be an Exit row seat on the other side of the A/C and that I should stay there until after landing!:ok:

Needless to say, the pain levels were far more bearable. Errr... the complimentary bottles of Red that F/A ensured came my way did help somewhat...:D


Funny you mention JAL I have done two trips with them in the last 6 months and can’t speak highly enough of them. Economy seats on the 787 are wider with greater pitch than Qantas , there are more and bigger toilets, you can purchase 3 hours of internet for $20 roughly if you want it, it’s daylight from Sydney and on my last trip home they gave me a row of 4 to myself as staff. To crown it off using MyId travel the ticket was $90 cheaper than Qantas staff travel.

[Chronic Snoozer]

Was surprised to read that she's been around for so long, I don't know why but I just thought she was a recent arrival.

She certainly has done the rounds re departments which is a good thing, was never front line though.

Internal Audit Supervisor > Financial Controller - Commercial Division > Qantas Catering Product Manager > General Manager Inflight Services > Executive Manager Product and Services > Executive Manager Commercial Planning > Senior Executive Vice President, The Americas > Executive Manager Sales and Distribution > Chief Customer Officer > Group Chief Financial Officer - Designate > Group Chief Financial Officer > CEO

Sounds like someone who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

[SHVC]

Jetstar still needs a CEO. Last time I checked nobody appears to be in that role?

It could be OW now she missed out on the top gig, if she does not get a promotion she could leave to competitor.

[brokenagain]

It’ll be the same sh*t different person delivering it. QF really needs some fresh blood at the top.

[slats11]

Quite a few associates are in similar position to myself
1. Lifetime Q gold over the years - probably wouldn’t set out to do that starting out now, but I’m 58 and a lot of these flights were in different and better times.
2. Get a lot of QFF points from credit card spend.
3. Slightly prefer Q over V for domestic - they all have good and bad days, but Q feels (slightly) more robust overall
4. Use other carriers in OneWorld for international travel
5. Redeem QFF for other airlines. Can’t get flights you want on Q anyway.

Went to US in January - AA was as good as Q any used to be.

Taking extended family to UK and Europe this Christmas. JAL.

The only Q thing I’ll be seeing is the Sydney lounge - although Amex Centurion is said to be better so I’ll give that a try.

Its sad that a much loved and long standing Australian icon has fallen so far. But that was the path chosen by Q highly paid executive.

[dr dre]

God help us all. All just to make a statement

I don’t know who out there was going to come in and shower employees with gifts and pay rises. It seems all potential CEOs these days are cut from the same cloth. VH is as good as anyone else, and better than some other potential candidates mooted.

The one possible saving grace with VH is that she is old school QF. She joined when it was a still a majority government owned carrier. Maybe not as inclined to outsource work and possibly restore a bit of pre privatisation glamour to the airline. Or maybe not.

[Lookleft]

The one possible saving grace with VH is that she is old school QF. She joined when it was a still a majority government owned carrier.

She joined in 1994, it was floated in 1995. So no she is not old school Qantas at all. She joined when Keating was in the middle of privatising Qantas. Certainly she is experienced in how Qantas has been run since its transfer from Government ownership but she has operated within the culture created by Strong, Dixon and Joyce. I can't see any change to staff relations or customer service, after all she was Chief Customer Officer and look at the difference that made.

[dr dre]

So no she is not old school Qantas at all. ….. but she has operated within the culture created by Strong, Dixon and Joyce.

I would count “old school QF” as anyone employed pre Joyce. There’s a big difference between Strong’s running of the company v Joyce.

But a new CEO will always put their own stamp on the business. I doubt it’ll mean rapid expansion, primarily due to manufacturer order books being full for years ahead. Even if she wanted to expand the company she won’t be able to.

[gordonfvckingramsay]

My money is on her spending the first year or so reminding us all how important it is to have a woman running that airline as apposed to actually running it. I hope I’m wrong but I doubt she will be successful in repairing the damage in time.

[Lookleft]

I would count “old school QF” as anyone employed pre Joyce.

Pre-Joyce was Dixon and he was not old school Qantas either. Strong was Australian Airlines and came back to Qantas as CEO after privatisation so he was not old school Qantas. Old school Qantas built up its reputation for service, safety and innovation in its first 70 years of operation. The last 30 years has been all about profit and executive bonuses.

[AerialPerspective]

I would count “old school QF” as anyone employed pre Joyce. There’s a big difference between Strong’s running of the company v Joyce.

But a new CEO will always put their own stamp on the business. I doubt it’ll mean rapid expansion, primarily due to manufacturer order books being full for years ahead. Even if she wanted to expand the company she won’t be able to.

I'd agree about the "old school QF", Strong was the beginning of the rot, Dixon just intensified it and Joyce, well, we all know how that worked out. I was still there after privatisation, my impression was that it just kept operating pretty much the same for several years until bad decisions started to have an effect so I think it's fair to say she's old school because she would have operated in that lingering environment for a while.

[airspace alpha]

Well, look on the bright side. Isn't it nice to have a CEO named after an aircraft...

[Fliegenmong]

We're off to New York on Saturday.....guess who we aren't flying with?

[Australopithecus]

Is that what V-jet meant?

[slats11]

Friends last year went Hawaiian. 48 hr break in Honolulu, and avoided LAX / DFW.

[kiwi grey]

Funny you mention JAL I have done two trips with them in the last 6 months and can’t speak highly enough of them. Economy seats on the 787 are wider with greater pitch than Qantas , there are more and bigger toilets, you can purchase 3 hours of internet for $20 roughly if you want it, it’s daylight from Sydney and on my last trip home they gave me a row of 4 to myself as staff. To crown it off using MyId travel the ticket was $90 cheaper than Qantas staff travel.

JAL are I think the only airline still running their 787s with the originally designed 8-abreast economy class.
Truly Dreamliners, the now ubiquitous 9-abreast economy turns them into Nightmareliners

[maui]

Why /how could anyone think she will do a better job.
She has been a part of the rotten top tier for some time.
To have stayed there till now, she either believes the Leprechauns way, was the right way (so no change required): or she was too piss weak to stand up and be counted (which would have ensured her passage out the door.

They needed to get someone from outside, untainted by the filth inside.

Dark days to continue,. Such a pity.
Maui.

[PW1830]

All she has to do when in doubt is ask herself - what would Alan do?
- then do the opposite.

[mates rates]

John Thomas would have been the man,but he knows too much about actually running an airline.

[blubak]

Why /how could anyone think she will do a better job.
She has been a part of the rotten top tier for some time.
To have stayed there till now, she either believes the Leprechauns way, was the right way (so no change required): or she was too piss weak to stand up and be counted (which would have ensured her passage out the door.

They needed to get someone from outside, untainted by the filth inside.

Dark days to continue,. Such a pity.
Maui.
Couldnt agree more,right at the top of the back slappers club who continually congratulated each other on what a great job they were doing.
No doubt whatsoever that this appointment was put together by the 1 about to depart as a reward for always nodding her head exactly as required.

[Captn Rex Havack]

I'm wondering about all the talk of returning QF to the good days of the past, resurrecting the great airline, undoing all of Alan's nasty work. Are we talking from the passenger's perspective or the employees? Is the travelling punter's trans pacific experience much different now to, say 1992? Or is it just a lot of pissed off employees wanting the old days back? Genuine question.

[Sunfish]

Any remaining white male heterosexual young managers better leave now.

[gordonfvckingramsay]

I'm wondering about all the talk of returning QF to the good days of the past, resurrecting the great airline, undoing all of Alan's nasty work. Are we talking from the passenger's perspective or the employees? Is the travelling punter's trans pacific experience much different now to, say 1992? Or is it just a lot of pissed off employees wanting the old days back? Genuine question.

The customers and the staff hate the state of the operation equally I imagine. Staff are pissed because they have had to watch an icon being squandered and the public tend to hate that’s the point.

[Sunfish]

gordon: Staff are pissed because they have had to watch an icon being squandered and the public tend to hate that’s the point.

From the point of view of a Wall Street investment analyst - their continued employment and salary being determined each quarter, a “reputation” like the Qantas brand is only of value if you can use it this quarter to screw more money out of their customers and thus increase the share price.

‘’For these guys “long term” might be six months. They care not what happens to Qantas or any other asset once they have dropped it from their portfolio.

‘’To put that another way, you can blather on about history, patriotism and loyalty and service all you like; the analyst kid behind the desk wants a new Ferrari and a house in the Hamptons and all he cares about is whether holding Qantas paper is going to deliver. These guys would sell their mothers if there was money to be made.

‘’The same sort of excuses for human beings are preparing Virgin for an IPO.

[dragon man]

Rear Window https://archive.md/tjggd/c7303bb2dd0a7b2cdb147084087488e9dac3a9aa.pngVanessa Hudson, a new Qantas CEO in denialJoe Aston (https://archive.md/o/tjggd/https://www.afr.com/by/joe-aston-hveym)ColumnistMay 2, 2023 – 7.30pm
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“While I say it’s never easy, the board firmly feels Olivia [Wirth] is the right person to take Qantas forward,” the company’s chairman [b]Richard Goyder told the press conference announcing that Vanessa Hudson, not Wirth, would succeed Alan Joyce as chief executive.
If Goyder is choreographing the King’s coronation this Saturday, the Archbishop of Canterbury may yet anoint Prince Andrew.
In Goyder’s subconscious, where his likeability is king, even the losers are winners.
Hudson responded to her first question as CEO designate on Tuesday morning by identifying her highest priority, as taught to her by Joyce: “Take care of the customers. Absolutely at the centre of everything we do is delivering for our customers.”
It never gets old watching business leaders, just like politicians, obviate the meaning of their words by sheer repetition. If they say it enough times, in the presence of the board and the press, it will be true.
Had Hudson really thought about her assertion, she would be unable to utter it with a straight face.Will she say, “We take care of our customers and that’s why we’re refunding, in cash, the $800 million of flight credits they’re finding it impossible to redeem (https://archive.md/o/tjggd/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/the-great-qantas-flight-credit-racket-20230327-p5cvpp)”?No, she’s saying, “Actually, we’ll keep your money for the service we never provided. That’s taking care of you, don’t you understand?”
Customers know very well that Qantas has been shamelessly gouging them, exploiting its competitive position to rob them blind, to charge the highest prices in history for a product and service that is a shadow of its former self. It is why, according to Roy Morgan, Qantas has collapsed from the 9th to the 40th most trusted brand in Australia.
This is the truth that Hudson and Joyce simply won’t accept. It was all in the past. It was pure COVID disruption, cancelled flights and lost bags, and that’s all over. Tragically, Goyder’s ornamental board of directors actually seems to believe this.
“We’ve invested an enormous amount of money, $200 million this year, in getting the [customer experience] back to where it needs to be, and it is back where we were pre-COVID,” Hudson said.
This is another ridiculous assertion. The radical cost cuts and neglected investment are real and customer-facing. When it comes to meal time, nobody flying Qantas in a premium cabin (paying at least 20 per cent more than a ticket on any other airline) will agree things are back to where they were in 2019. Nobody.
This is why institutional investors love Joyce, and why Hudson is promising “continuity of strategy”. But then let’s not pretend that customers are a top priority for outgoing or incoming Qantas management. Their top priority is pushing customers to their outer limit, which ranks alongside telling them what a marvellous experience they’ve had!
The grand irony is that in 2008, when Joyce – the young CEO of Jetstar – took the reins of Qantas, many darkly predicted he would turn Qantas into Jetstar. He proved them wrong for many, many years, until he proved them right.
In his early years, Joyce made smart cost savings that actually improved productivity and the customer experience. A highly visible one was the automated check-in and bag drop at domestic terminals.
Compare that to the failure pre-2020 to invest sufficiently in qantas.com or the Qantas app. Customers now wait hours on the phone unnecessarily, and Qantas retains a battalion of call centre staff, to make booking changes customers should be able to make online in a few seconds. Qantas directors don’t feel this, of course. Their calls never go unanswered.
Joyce won’t accept that he hung around well past his best. “If it hadn’t have been for COVID, I would’ve retired a few years ago,” he said on Tuesday. “When it came to Qantas’ 100th year in 2020, my intent was to look at that as the appropriate time to go … [but] I agreed to stay here for this length of time to help the company get through a terrible crisis.”
Can you believe one man’s self-sacrifice? He stayed on for the good of everyone. Indeed, his final three years of tenure at Qantas were basically a community service. Seriously, someone should nominate him for a second AC. Double Companionship of the Order of Australia would help soothe the ghastly privation of the $30 million he’s being paid for that period (https://archive.md/o/tjggd/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/alan-joyce-s-24m-golden-parachute-20230329-p5cwgc).
This was a typically audacious recasting of history. In May 2019, well before COVID, the Qantas board extended Joyce’s tenure by another three years (https://archive.md/o/tjggd/https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/qantas-ceo-to-keep-job-amid-reshuffle-20190501-p51ivy) “at least”. The claim that he really planned to retire in 2020 is completely unverifiable and at odds with everything the company said the previous year.
The legend of Alan Joyce is truly spent, and this try-on is the perfect signal. He really did save his best face-plant for last.

[RENURPP]

I'm wondering about all the talk of returning QF to the good days of the past, resurrecting the great airline, undoing all of Alan's nasty work. Are we talking from the passenger's perspective or the employees? Is the travelling punter's trans pacific experience much different now to, say 1992? Or is it just a lot of pissed off employees wanting the old days back? Genuine question.
Qantas today is nothing like Qantas of days gone by.

On time performance is abysmal. Hidden by statistics.
Service quality is atrocious. Miserable underpaid front line staff, less of them, (no service desk at most airports) in economy the pax get thrown a biscuit or a “gay pride cookie”. Gone are the days of hot meals in economy, choice of drinks and I do mean choice.

Work experience kids running ground handling services.

One aircraft was pushed back twice in one day with the park brake on. I bet that happens regularly, how many reports can one man submit?

always late, bags lost, not enough staff rostered on.

That’s a few items. I will leave maintenance for another post.

[soseg]

The name of the new CEO is Hudson and her initials are VH. Dare we hope?

I can't help but stay cynical.

Q-Group pilots in 2025:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/662x377/7k86pe_cf5a2121458c1afb6b7d0bf79612c2b642e8f8a6.jpg

[Fliegenmong]

After a family connection to QF going back more than 40 years,...its a very big NO from my Family & I,...those of us with Staff travel don't use it, There are far better offerings available, and thats also ignoring the ME3 on principle

[AerialPerspective]

Well, look on the bright side. Isn't it nice to have a CEO named after an aircraft...

Or with a surname the same as the founder's middle name.

[SHVC]

VH will be walking into a $hit storm, old fleet, pi$$ed off customers, the impending recession that will hit airlines hard. I just hope she has a plan and does not continue with the virtue signaling. I wonder is she will approach the gov for a few hundred million to support Albo like the AFL benefited.

[Buckshot]

Surely her first decision must be to revisit the 2005 order for 65 787s plus 50 options which from memory were locked in at launch prices. It's scandalous that almost 20 years later only 14 787s have been purchased and market share is being gifted to competitors

[Sunfish]

She is worse than an accountant, she’s an auditor - as the old joke says: auditors are people who don’t have enough personality to be an accountant.

‘’That said, everything she sees is measured in dollars and cents and her only tool, being a bean counter, is the pencil. She will cut costs even further than Joyce did because cost cutting is all she knows.

The Qantas strategy for 40 years has been simple:

1. Trade on the innate patriotism of Australians by dosing them with soft feel good nationalism in very effective marketing campaigns.

2. Develop very effective Government lobbying capabilities using (1) + freebie like the chairman’s lounge. That allowed QF to run a virtual monopoly for forty+ years.

3. Screw every last drop of blood from Australian travellers: domestic and international on the strength of its reputation and monopoly position.

And screw us they did. I was paying $7000+ for two economy tickets to europe in the 70’s when American teenagers were choking London on weekends - they were paying a few hundred dollars in airfares while we were forced to pay about twice the going rate.

Dont get me started on their Sydney-centric bias.

Qantas has been an unmitigated disaster for the Australian economy. We are a trading country. We need cheap and copious travel options to everywhere, both for ourselves and international visitors. Hell will freeze over before Qantas delivers anything of value to Australia.

In the 70’s, I would automatically make QF my first choice, such was their market position.

Since a disastrously expensive and bad experience of Qantas business class circa 2001 and new appreciation of just how rotten and expensive compared to others, and the negative effect Qantas was having on the Australian economy, I gave them away except when forced.

[RodH]

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1580x2000/joyce_farewell_speech_2_8a7586e3f99289196ae6044040ea109f4c13 0262.png

[Ken Borough]

She is worse than an accountant, she’s an auditor

Audit at Qantas at that time did not consist of cardigan wearing people with green pens. They looked at systems and processes to determine their efficacy, appropriateness and checks and balances.

[dr dre]

John Thomas would have been the man,but he knows too much about actually running an airline.

John Thomas was seriously unremarkable, the VA board disliked his 2IC performance at VA so much they sacked him after not even a year and gave the job to the Tigerair CEO

[Foxxster]

If you own Qantas shares, sell them now. There will be the usual first financial year clean out that new CEOs do. Financial clean out that is. All skeletons are brought out and thrown out.

no doubt as CFO she is well aware of exactly what she will do and will be using the time until November to plan her moves.

these will include writing off or writing down any assets that are potentially over valued. This can include software.

work out redundancies. So that any redundancy expense is out through in the first financial year.

the whole idea is to bring everything that could potentially be bad news in future years into the first financial year. Also slash staff costs and make sure the redundancy expenses which can be significant are out through.

so in her second financial year she can then turn around and say how well she has done because profits are higher than that disastrous first year. Look how good I am.

standard procedure for any new CEO and with 15 years of Joyce I imagine there are plenty of skeletons.

so expect redundancies first half of next year.. and a lower than expected profit result.


if you want to buy back shares, wait until the start of her second financial year after the first years bad profit has been announced and the share price takes a hit.

[tossbag]

John Thomas was seriously unremarkable, the VA board disliked his 2IC performance at VA so much they sacked him after not even a year and gave the job to the Tigerair CEO

So you're saying Virgin management were good decision makers?

[dejapoo]

John Thomas would have been the man,but he knows too much about actually running an airline.

As if the left and the virtue theatre would allow a bloke, be it heterosexual and white as well as having a name slang for appendage !!


Slang for penis. For further confirmation of this definition view Austin Powers (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Austin%20Powers) II The spy who shagged me (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=The%20spy%20who%20shagged%20me) during the rocket (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=the%20rocket) scene.
Would you look at the Jon (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=the%20Jon) Thomas (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Thomas) on that guy!! He is hung like a horse (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hung%20like%20a%20horse)...wait, he is a horse.

[Fliegenmong]

Foxxster is on the money I would say!!

[dragon man]

A ‘mountain of capex’ awaits new Qantas chief Vanessa HudsonA ‘mountain of capital expenditure’ awaits incoming Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson, after a brief honeymoon period.
https://archive.md/96m6k/58258d505773de9c064f0439546f2f699ea2f4b5.png (https://archive.md/o/96m6k/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/robyn-ironside)Robyn Ironside (https://archive.md/o/96m6k/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/robyn-ironside)Aviation Writer
@ironsider (https://archive.md/o/96m6k/https://twitter.com/ironsider)
2 min read
May 3, 2023 - 2:19PMThe Australian Business Network
https://archive.md/96m6k/09b888b41a548553e883f585618ba42283eb0ec3.webp
Strategic Aviation Solutions Chairman Neil Hansford says the “old boys club” will make it difficult for incoming Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson as she will have to do “twice as well” than what a male would to be recognised for her achievements.


Newly appointed Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson faces a “mountain of capital expenditure” when she takes over from Alan Joyce, ensuring she will get an all-too-brief honeymoon in the job.
The grim forecast from analysts came as Ms Hudson basked in a flood of congratulations, led by her main rival, Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka.
“Vanessa will be an exceptional CEO for Qantas. She is a natural leader, an excellent executive and a great person,” said Ms Hrdlicka who was the first woman to lead a major Australian airline following her 2012 appointment as Jetstar CEO.
Ms Hrdlicka also reached out to her former colleague on LinkedIn, noting Ms Hudson’s promotion was “hard-earned and well deserved”. https://archive.md/96m6k/d9f52a3f837e75c7bae8b578ddf3e088c39ebec1.jpgVirgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka offered her “warm congratulations” to Vanessa Hudson following the news of her appointment as the next Qantas CEO. Picture: Brendan RadkeEmirates’ Australasia vice president Barry Brown offered his congratulations as well, noting he had worked with Ms Hudson on many occasions, particularly through the airlines’ now ten-year-old codeshare partnership.
Congratulations also came from Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran, who said his airline and Qantas had a “long history of driving each other to be better for customers”.
“I look forward to that continuing under (Ms Hudson’s) leadership,” Mr Foran said.
The generally well-received announcement by Qantas on Tuesday, was only tempered by a negative sharemarket reaction and analyst warnings that Ms Hudson faced a “mountain of capital expenditure”.
Morningstar equity analyst Angus Hewitt estimated Qantas would need to spend about $15bn over the next five years on its ageing fleet, or more than double that of the past five years.
“Qantas’ fleet of more than 300 planes represents substantial capital investment, and Covid-19 delays and cancellations in aircraft deliveries have exacerbated Qantas’ already ageing fleet,” Mr Hewitt said.
“With the first new aircraft deliveries now beginning to come online, we estimate the Qantas fleet is about 14-years old on average and about 11-years old for the Jetstar brand.
“This compares with about 11-years for Virgin Australia and about nine years for Air New Zealand.” https://archive.md/96m6k/99a8b86e2fc3931018df964d871ce05c62696817.jpgQantas’ outgoing boss Alan Joyce, with his successor Vanessa Hudson. Picture: Gaye GerardOver the long term, Mr Hewitt predicted that fleet expansion, replacement and refurbishment would “absorb meaningful cashflow and constrain returns to shareholders”.
“While new aircraft can offer higher customer appeal and significant benefits, including lower fuel costs and less frequent heavy maintenance, these benefits are often offset by the additional capital cost and are typically competed away over time.”
In the meantime, Qantas was enjoying optimal conditions with demand for travel strong, capacity constrained and jet fuel prices moderating.
Mr Hewitt suggested that was unlikely to last as Virgin Australia looked to pick up market share ahead of a potential float, Rex expanded its footprint and Bonza gained momentum.
“We don’t think Qantas has carved a competitive advantage as it fundamentally faces the same challenges confronted by all airlines,” he said.
“Airlines globally lack economic moats due to a business model with high fixed costs not conducive to rational pricing, a lack of barriers to entry and low switching costs. We expect these conditions which plagued the airline industry before the pandemic to return.”
Samuel Seow of Citi Research took a similar view, pointing out Qantas had some “emerging issues in the next leg of recovery like market share, ticket reductions and fleet renewal”.
“Subsequently, we thought the business needed an updated strategy,” said Mr Seow, adding that it was “good timing” for a new CEO as the airline entered a new phase.
Qantas shares continued to lose ground in morning trade on Wednesday, to be down 1.5 per cent at midday, at $6.45

[dragon man]

https://michaelwest.com.au/alan-joyce-to-depart-is-it-time-for-qantas-to-retire-jetstar-too/

[dragon man]

‘Delighted’: Qantas engineers and pilots respond to Alan Joyce’s departureThe longtime CEO may be going, but the announcement of his replacement, Vanessa Hudson, hasn't raised the spirits of many staff.

MICHAEL SAINSBURY (https://www.crikey.com.au/author/michael-sainsbury/)

MAY 03, 2023

15 (https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/05/03/qantas-alan-joyce-ceo-departure/#comments)

Give this article
https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/LR3yrF1nRB9V6pAD6Eqc9nKKRQKmPW0vs9Ceao7MgFz-o3MIaxB8EaW_5yMS7EO7CQsaZzKy1M7S_iVd31B0CNXMMRJaNLdS95tjOL8U HY04i9khEH-VagjvOa3yAmDHKfWb0iNZE-L2q8y7hqQm=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.crikey.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Alan-Joyce-and-Vanessa-Hudson.jpg?w=740OUTGOING QANTAS CEO ALAN JOYCE AND HIS REPLACEMENT, VANESSA HUDSON (IMAGE: (AAP/BIANCA DE MARCHI)There was barely a wet eye in the house among Qantas’ engineers, pilots, cabin crew and middle management when the departure of longtime chief executive Alan Joyce was finally announced (https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-group-announces-ceo-succession/) yesterday.

Still, his replacement, Qantas chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson, will have to cool her heels until Joyce completes a six-month victory lap ending with a triumphant annual general meeting. It’s there shareholders should lock in the last tranche of bonuses that will see Joyce walk away at least $125 million richer for his 15 years as CEO. He will also get millions in post-employment travel up the front of the plane, as will his husband, as per the airline’s remuneration scheme.

If shareholders love him and customers increasingly dislike him after enduring a year of post-COVID chaos, his staff hold mixed views. He is more loved by employees at the top where he had feathered the nests of senior management, and far less popular with on-the-ground workers.
https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-aJuvUHFXxYY2oNTLn5VHmLb9XPYe-LvOIBDm_-1YglFBDX6b9Jxtfer0R7INilvA5IqLYLOFiKs1LC6lZrWMOZEIyayp23rKYE 6-P-lgNynvmb_JBD4viRTRLNlyNwvW_6GIJ5ctc98hp7xxYU=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.crikey.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/goyderjoyce_720.jpg?w=224&h=120&crop=1 (https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/10/19/qantas-profit-keeps-millions-in-jobkeeper/)Qantas soars back into profit but keeps its millions in JobKeeper. That seem right? (https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/10/19/qantas-profit-keeps-millions-in-jobkeeper/)Read More (https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/10/19/qantas-profit-keeps-millions-in-jobkeeper/)That Joyce has finally been replaced certainly seemed enough for many staff. One engineer told Crikey: “Frankly, we are just happy to see him go.” A pilot said: “Everyone will be delighted that he is going. He effectively blackmailed us into taking lower pay for flying 787s by threatening to outsource (https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/pilots-accuse-qantas-of-management-failures-and-strong-arm-industrial-relations-approach-20220905-p5bfl4.html) the jobs. He denies it now but that’s what happened.”

Pilots on the aircraft arriving in coming years will also take another pay hit.

Unions were understandably thrilled at the imminent departure of their nemesis as they head to the High Court this week over the sacking of 1700 Qantas ground staff, which the Federal Court twice found was illegal (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-04/qantas-loses-appeal-outsourcing-case-with-compensation-penalties/101036724).

“Over a decade Alan Joyce has systematically splintered his workforce and driven down standards to the point where Qantas is a shadow of what it once was,” Transport Workers’ Union general secretary Michael Kaine said.

“Joyce’s position became untenable because Qantas was treated as a corporate vessel for excessive executive bonuses and shareholder dividends. Vanessa Hudson must be courageous enough to steer Qantas back to its core purpose: high-quality service for passengers and investment in the hard-working people who built the spirit of Australia.”

Some insiders questioned his replacement, who has been with the company for 28 years. “Well, she’s hardly a breath of fresh air, is she?” one middle manager told Crikey. Another said there are some staff who “reckon [Hudson] will just continue Joyce’s legacy”.

But the general feeling was summed up by one insider: “I also think [Hudson] will be a fall guy for the high debt levels that will be needed to refleet the airline. But everyone is looking forward to the end of the Joyce/Goyder/Clifford years [referring to former chairman Leigh Clifford who hired Joyce]. Hopefully the board will be gutted as well.”

The estimated $12 billion to renew the airline’s fleet has been well documented (https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/01/20/qantas-flight-emergency-sydney-auckland-qf144/). Less well-known is the deteriorating state of planes and maintenance facilities.

“The 787 cabins are atrocious for such new aircraft due to the Los Angeles facility still being a basket case,” an engineer told Crikey. He claimed Qantas management had been asking engineers with 787 and A380 licences who took redundancies if they are keen on 12-month contracts in LAX.

“This reeks of desperation,“ he said.
https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/tIzwi1Ljwt11fc7yD98UWbr2egsy8HE52dofh88uK2ykch8u8rHiIb2ZyuOg YwCxe63cJFvvAU0p6TQxw-BhIvQ34AtyQhRoN5ESt-VJ9mppER4e2cxoshs6ml_B6iFmJQRf2SoJbKI5mXhWOSzFEzSJYtKPRvdCmU tqow=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.crikey.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/20230118001753738170-original.jpg?w=224&h=120&crop=1 (https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/01/20/qantas-flight-emergency-sydney-auckland-qf144/)Qantas’ week from hell was a long time coming — are its engines finally failing? (https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/01/20/qantas-flight-emergency-sydney-auckland-qf144/)Read More (https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/01/20/qantas-flight-emergency-sydney-auckland-qf144/)Sources said business class and premium economy seats are locked out on most aircrafts as engineers wait on parts and enough ground time to fix things: “They are trying to achieve 10 hours of maintenance in a three-hour transit and it doesn’t work. They are being flogged.”

The situation with the domestic workhorse 737 also continues to deteriorate as Qantas awaits replacement planes from Airbus, whose orders were delayed time and again by management, according to people in operations who describe the fleet as a “disaster”.

Fifteen years at the top of any company is generally seen as poor corporate governance, but chairman Richard Goyder and his board had found it strangely difficult to part with their often controversial chief executive, who he praised as “the best CEO in Australia (https://www.afr.com/rear-window/qantas-chairman-richard-goyder-lands-wheels-up-on-alan-joyce-20220914-p5bi3s) by a length of a straight”.

That’s understandable. Joyce brought his fellow directors ever-increasing board payments (https://michaelwest.com.au/rooing-the-day-qantas-passengers-and-crew-taken-for-a-ride-by-the-board/#:~:text=Pay%20rises%20for%20Qantas%20directors,collective%2 0%242.4%20million%20between%20them.) while the wages of other employees were systematically slashed. Qantas failed to deliver a single new aircraft ordered by Joyce — who did not bite the bullet until 2019. The first delivery is due at the earliest late this year. Better still, their Qantas shareholdings have soared in value on the back of menial capital spend, record ticket prices and a round of share buybacks (https://www.fool.com.au/2023/02/23/why-is-qantas-buying-back-shares-instead-of-paying-dividends/).

Meanwhile, Tuesday over at Qantas Loyalty, its boss Olivia Wirth — runner-up in the CEO race — held a scheduled lunchtime “town hall” meeting with staff. Sources said she ruefully noted “I’m still here” before skipping out at about 2pm.

Australians hope the board has made the right choice with Hudson, despite missing a rare opportunity to bring fresh eyes to an airline about to be squeezed with more competition both domestically and internationally. Whatever the case, after 15 years of Joyce’s headline-hogging tenure, boring may be something of a relief.

[Pinky the pilot]

that will see Joyce walk away at least $125 million richer for his 15 years as CEO.

I am trying to find a suitable description for such a 'wage.':mad:

The only term I can come up with is 'an obscenity,' but that still seems grossly inadequate.:ugh:

[dragon man]

I am trying to find a suitable description for such a 'wage.':mad:

The only term I can come up with is 'an obscenity,' but that still seems grossly inadequate.:ugh:


I think after this year’s largesse it will be well over $150 million PLUS unlimited first class confirmed travel for him and his husband while in retirement.

[soseg]

$125 million he walks away with

The company successfully threatened 250 or so Second Officers with redundancy when Covid hit to take LWOP or risk losing their jobs, all because on stand-down provisions they accumulate 6 weeks of AL per year.

Someone made a coloured version of the seniority list indicating in red which SO's took the LWOP out of fear of their jobs. It was heavily red towards the bottom of the list as the junior pilots, many of whom have 25-35 years left in this career, were scared into taking LWOP.

The bounce back happened and they began begging them to return early. Most took 3+ years. Some took 5 years. Company after 2 years was begging them to return, and still is as some refuse.

What do 250 SO's accumulating 6 weeks of AL cost the company per year? About $3.5million. They saved maybe $7 million over two years but now are left with hundreds (if not all) of jaded pilots who absolutely hate senior flight ops management and are absolutely fed up.

Bravo. They'll be carrying that burden for the remainder of their careers for decades to come. What a culture. What a vibe.

[Chronic Snoozer]

I think after this year’s largesse it will be well over $150 million PLUS unlimited first class confirmed travel for him and his husband while in retirement.

Nice work if you can get it but surely someone who has siphoned such largesse from the QANTAS coffers, does not need to be gifted free first class travel for life for two people. What do other employees get for 15 years service and substantially less pay? I mean, it’s not as if he wouldn’t have done the job if that cherry wasn’t on the cake. It illustrates exactly what is wrong with the C-suite generally, exaggerated self-entitlement and a grandiose sense of self-worth which spits in the eyes of employees. From the sounds of it, QANTAS isn’t exactly in good shape so where’s the value for money with this CEO?

[Impress to inflate]

As a long time Platinum FF, I hope his departure will also remove the woke'ness he bought to Qantas. I also hope customer service improves, the lounge in Karratha is barely open and the lounge in Broome, the customer is treated like a primary school child in the school canteen.

[RealSatoshi]

I am trying to find a suitable description for such a 'wage.':mad:
The only term I can come up with is 'an obscenity,' but that still seems grossly inadequate.:ugh:

Let's give him the Benefit of the Doubt :} and assume he was Hard Working, Loyal and ever Productive - even while jetting around the world to attend whatever conference or appear on Bloomberg and the likes:

12 Hours a Day
5 Days a Week (no discount for Public Holidays)
48 Weeks a Year
4 Weeks Annual Leave
15 Years Service

That is 43 200 Hours at a rate of $2 893.52 per Hour for every Hour - DISGUSTING :=

[dragon man]

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1824x1186/16a4256d_e051_4ae6_bb48_49ee2559215c_9068e39105d765a9f62a666 61ae58f58821c9e07.jpeg


Funny how international gets 3 new aircraft in 2026 for a total of 12 by 2029 and that’s because Qantas international is going to become even more of an irrelevancy and I would suggest Jetstar will replace its clapped out 787s with 321 XL and XLR.

[MickG0105]

​​​​​​... Joyce brought his fellow directors ever-increasing board payments (https://michaelwest.com.au/rooing-the-day-qantas-passengers-and-crew-taken-for-a-ride-by-the-board/#:~:text=Pay%20rises%20for%20Qantas%20directors,collective%2 0%242.4%20million%20between%20them.) ...
Clearly written by someone who has NFI what he is talking about.

For starters, CEOs do not determine Board remuneration.

More to the point, however, is that over the course of Joyce's 15 years as CEO, Qantas Board remuneration has risen by a total of some 15.6 percent (12.1 percent for the Chairman, and 16.2 percent for Board members). The CPI over the same period has risen by about 40 percent. In other words, Board remuneration has declined in real terms.

​​With any number of legitimate criticisms of Joyce's time at the helm of Qantas, it's beyond odd that anyone would feel compelled to make stuff up.

[Chronic Snoozer]

Clearly written by someone who has NFI what he is talking about.

For starters, CEOs do not determine Board remuneration.

​​With any number of legitimate criticisms of Joyce's time at the helm of Qantas, it's beyond odd that anyone would feel compelled to make stuff up.

If you go to the source article for that “turn of phrase”, the writer states Goyder and the board gave themselves a pay rise, not Joyce. I think they were just being artistic with their writing.

[dragon man]

I have taken this from 2009 compared to 2022.

Chairman (base pay) 2009 $444,000
Chairman (base pay) 2022 $586,000

percentage increase 32%


Board member is a lot harder as they appear to all earn different amounts so I have taken base pay of the first director under the chairman who both elect to be paid superannuation.

Peter Cosgrove 2009. $167,135

Maxine Brenner 2022. $201,000

Percentage increase. 20.25%

[MickG0105]

I have taken this from 2009 compared to 2022.

Chairman (base pay) 2009 $444,000
Chairman (base pay) 2022 $586,000

percentage increase 32%


Board member is a lot harder as they appear to all earn different amounts so I have taken base pay of the first director under the chairman who both elect to be paid superannuation.

Peter Cosgrove 2009. $167,135

Maxine Brenner 2022. $201,000

Percentage increase. 20.25%
Comparing payments made to different individuals is fraught with problems; you will routinely run up against apples and oranges comparisons.

Your 2009 Chairman's base pay of $444,000 is based on Leigh Clifford's actual remuneration for that reporting period but does not include the $100,000 in superannuation that he received.

Board remuneration is spelled out in each annual report. For 2009, it appears on page 69. The annual fees for 2009 were:
Chairman - $544,000
Member - $136,000

For 2022, board remuneration appears on page 60. The annual fees for 2022 were:
Chairman - $610,000
Member - $158,000

The respective increases were:
Chairman - 12.1 percent
Member - 16.2 percent

[dragon man]

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/b9677552_194b_4148_b9c9_96642c43d238_d0a339cfe444a70da7ef9c6 7c6738314a5317516.png
Cash $444,000
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/9739c97a_c835_4d42_b1c3_34e78892ef2f_9e42e758d1459a2d7a590c0 66226f546d65dc7de.png
Cash $586,000

[MickG0105]

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/b9677552_194b_4148_b9c9_96642c43d238_d0a339cfe444a70da7ef9c6 7c6738314a5317516.png
Cash $444,000
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/9739c97a_c835_4d42_b1c3_34e78892ef2f_9e42e758d1459a2d7a590c0 66226f546d65dc7de.png
Cash $586,000
Thank you, that illustrates my point perfectly.

Remuneration is the sum of cash and superannuation.

In 2009 Leigh Clifford took $444,000 in cash and $100,000 in super for a total of $544,000 (precisely the same sum as detailed in the 2009 Annual Report as the Chairman's Director's Fee).

In 2022 Richard Goyder took $586,000 in cash and $24,000 in super for a total of $610,000 (again precisely the same sum as detailed in the 2022 Annual Report as the Chairman's Director's Fee).

The difference between the 2009 and 2022 Chairman's remuneration is 12.1 percent.

[RealSatoshi]

In 2022 Richard Goyder took $586,000 in cash and $24,000 in super for a total of $610,000

Not a bad gig if you can get it...

Earning thát coin for attending 17 Meetings a year (roughly 1 every 3 weeks) :sad:
Surely he walks away and spends the next 2-3 weeks working day in/out on strategies for just the next meeting - No, as he has to do the same for Woodside Energy, the AFL Commission, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra & the Channel 7 Telethon Trust.

"Shareholders and proxy advisers have previously expressed concern to Goyder about his workload" - The Sydney Morning Herald


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1183/screenshot_2023_05_04_at_11_20_06_fc028bcb16c9cbb9f3c08f40a3 f78af2d061cad9.png

[dragon man]

Thank you, that illustrates my point perfectly.

Remuneration is the sum of cash and superannuation.

In 2009 Leigh Clifford took $444,000 in cash and $100,000 in super for a total of $544,000 (precisely the same sum as detailed in the 2009 Annual Report as the Chairman's Director's Fee).

In 2022 Richard Goyder took $586,000 in cash and $24,000 in super for a total of $610,000 (again precisely the same sum as detailed in the 2022 Annual Report as the Chairman's Director's Fee).

The difference between the 2009 and 2022 Chairman's remuneration is 12.1 percent.

Thats your way of looking at it mine is the cash rate which is the equivalent of what staff are paid. We beg to disagree.

[MickG0105]

Thats your way of looking at it mine is the cash rate which is the equivalent of what staff are paid. We beg to disagree.

Roger that, Hotel Delta.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/470x352/humpty_dumpty_words_mean_what_i_want_them_to_mean__3aa130fbd ac2bebe415a8d62ea319b5b8b831ce7.jpeg

[gordonfvckingramsay]

It seems like you guys are arguing over how big the double digit pay rise has been for board members. Meanwhile, the ones actually doing the work and carrying the responsibility have their pay frozen for years on end.

[dragon man]

It seems like you guys are arguing over how big the double digit pay rise has been for board members. Meanwhile, the ones actually doing the work and carrying the responsibility have their pay frozen for years on end.


And will continue to do so for the first two years of their next 5 year EA

[Ollie Onion]

The whole thing is a company, Qantas Group just about to make a record profit, cost of living high as with inflation yet all the Staff who make it Tim are on the back end of wage freezes and token 3% rises after two years of stand downs and pay freezes. The damage to moral is incalculable.

[dragon man]

The whole thing is a company, Qantas Group just about to make a record profit, cost of living high as with inflation yet all the Staff who make it Tim are on the back end of wage freezes and token 3% rises after two years of stand downs and pay freezes. The damage to moral is incalculable.


If the new CEO wanted to show leadership and get the blue collar staff back onside she would indicate at the very least that the wage freeze would be scrapped. The silence is deafening and I suspect will remain so.

[blubak]

If the new CEO wanted to show leadership and get the blue collar staff back onside she would indicate at the very least that the wage freeze would be scrapped. The silence is deafening and I suspect will remain so.
She wont be doing anything to make her ol mate look bad & that would have been clearly communicated to her before she was announced as the new ceo.
IMO,there was never a chance of an outsider getting the job as all that has been going on for many years would have been exposed very quickly.

[1A_Please]

I have to question the wisdom of announcing the new CEO but letting the outgoing CEO hang around for another 6 months. It is unclear who has authority in the meantime and a sign of weakness by the Chairman who is unable or unwilling to tell the outgoing CEO to do a quick victory lap and leave ASAP. Goyder, who seems pretty impotent against his CEOs, has done this extended leaving period at both Qantas and AFL.... twice in the same week.

[RickNRoll]

This topic was as hilarious as I'd hoped it would be.

[SHVC]

I have to question the wisdom of announcing the new CEO but letting the outgoing CEO hang around for another 6 months. It is unclear who has authority in the meantime and a sign of weakness by the Chairman who is unable or unwilling to tell the outgoing CEO to do a quick victory lap and leave ASAP. Goyder, who seems pretty impotent against his CEOs, has done this extended leaving period at both Qantas and AFL.... twice in the same week.

I guess when an FO gets a command allocation you don’t just hand over 4 bars and pay them the $$$ straight away. There is training involved and it’s clear who is in command when that training is being conducted. Maybe Mr G thinking the same.

[1A_Please]

I guess when an FO gets a command allocation you don’t just hand over 4 bars and pay them the $$$ straight away. There is training involved and it’s clear who is in command when that training is being conducted. Maybe Mr G thinking the same.
I would be surprised that a person who has sat in the office next door for years should need much training particularly as this person will receive a multi-million dollar salary package. Likewise a candidate who came from outside the organisation would also probably want the outgoing CEO gone sooner rather than later so they can commence their command as the clear leader not with the ever-present shadow of their predecessor hanging over them. It seems Goyder is just too weak to tell Joyce and McLachlan to leave and give their replacements clear air.

[ShandywithSugar]

If you own Qantas shares, sell them now. There will be the usual first financial year clean out that new CEOs do. Financial clean out that is. All skeletons are brought out and thrown out.

no doubt as CFO she is well aware of exactly what she will do and will be using the time until November to plan her moves.

these will include writing off or writing down any assets that are potentially over valued. This can include software.

work out redundancies. So that any redundancy expense is out through in the first financial year.

the whole idea is to bring everything that could potentially be bad news in future years into the first financial year. Also slash staff costs and make sure the redundancy expenses which can be significant are out through.

so in her second financial year she can then turn around and say how well she has done because profits are higher than that disastrous first year. Look how good I am.

standard procedure for any new CEO and with 15 years of Joyce I imagine there are plenty of skeletons.

so expect redundancies first half of next year.. and a lower than expected profit result.


if you want to buy back shares, wait until the start of her second financial year after the first years bad profit has been announced and the share price takes a hit.

Not to be rude but this is what has already been done and there is literally bugger all left.

[1A_Please]

In down years 2011 and 2020, AJ made sure they were complete shockers by fully writing down the 747s and A380s respectively. This was signed off by auditors but it had the upside of making subsequent years look much better with significantly reduced depreciation expense. Hudson probably can't do this as even the most compliant auditor wouldn't allow the 787s to be written down and everything else if pretty much already fully depreciated. In fact, with new fleet arriving, she will have the opposite problem with depreciation expense growing massively as the new Airbus fleets arrive in the next few years.

[SHVC]

I would be surprised that a person who has sat in the office next door for years should need much training particularly as this person will receive a multi-million dollar salary package. Likewise a candidate who came from outside the organisation would also probably want the outgoing CEO gone sooner rather than later so they can commence their command as the clear leader not with the ever-present shadow of their predecessor hanging over them. It seems Goyder is just too weak to tell Joyce and McLachlan to leave and give their replacements clear air.

Well who knows, the CEO world is different. JQ has been running without one since GE departure. JQ could be the test case if company's actually need a CEO.

[MickG0105]

I have to question the wisdom of announcing the new CEO but letting the outgoing CEO hang around for another 6 months. It is unclear who has authority in the meantime and a sign of weakness by the Chairman who is unable or unwilling to tell the outgoing CEO to do a quick victory lap and leave ASAP. Goyder, who seems pretty impotent against his CEOs, has done this extended leaving period at both Qantas and AFL.... twice in the same week.
The long kiss good night seems to be a bit of a Qantas tradition for CEOs. Dixon was named as the incoming CEO in November 2000 but didn't assume the role until March 2001. Joyce was named as incoming CEO in July 2008 but Dixon didn't leave until the end of November.

Beyond that, there are a few moving parts to this succession that makes it a smidge more complicated than a simple HO/TO transition. We're only seven or so weeks from EOFY, typically a busy time for Finance and the CFO. VH is likely to be fairly pre-occupied until results are released in August. Concurrently, the Board will be keen to have her replacement sorted before she moves to the corner office in November.

And frankly, given that it was the Board that asked Joyce to stay on for three years in 2020, he was always going to be there to address the 2023 AGM.

[dragon man]

Qantas’ jumbo stoush with pilots over who gets to fly the big jetshttps://archive.md/P8MKL/856ed9c12f36c9db025c5828147d9b2843019bbd.webpBy Angus Thompson (https://archive.md/o/P8MKL/https://www.smh.com.au/by/angus-thompson-h13u28)May 5, 2023 — 6.02pm
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Normal text sizeALarger text sizeAVery large text sizeAQantas and the pilots’ union are tussling over who gets to fly the biggest jets in the fleet as the national carrier claims its push to train new officers for A380s is being unreasonably blocked from within.
The airline has launched Federal Court action against the Australian International Pilots Association to break a nine-month deadlock over the terms of a workplace agreement that gives the most senior pilots priority for promotion to the cockpits of long-haul aircraft. https://archive.md/P8MKL/8bc523cca3af31884537d13a9e64a5ca3d322a4f.webp Qantas is in a drawn-out dispute with the pilots’ union over who gets to fly its prized A380s.CREDIT: MATT HARTMAN Qantas wants to recruit pilots externally for 20 coveted second-officer training spots on its A380 jets, rather than draw solely on the ranks of its existing Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A330 pilots.
Promoting from within would create a vacuum that couldn’t be filled fast enough internally, the airline argues, reducing the availability of pilots needed to meet the roaring demand for international flights.
But the pilots’ association has pushed back, accusing Qantas of circumventing tradition and bypassing career opportunities for those who dream of being the captain of the airline’s largest plane.
“The pilot seniority and allocation system has been accepted at Qantas for more than half a century to provide dedicated and long-serving pilots with a clear career pathway,” pilots’ association president Captain Tony Lucas said. https://archive.md/P8MKL/292d869b0d7db6d0b5b04a11bf203884e2d2470d.webp The dispute comes at a time of upheaval for the airline as long-running CEO Alan Joyce hands over control to his successor Vanessa Hudson.CREDIT: RHETT WYMAN “Regrettably Qantas has attempted to ride roughshod over this seniority and allocation system to reduce training requirements, which have been an understood and accepted part of flight operations for a long time.”
Qantas says it would have to train another 20 pilots to meet that demand if it were to promote second officers from within.“We have a record amount of training underway as we bring more pilots back after COVID, hire hundreds of new pilots and promote existing pilots to more senior positions,” a spokesperson for the airline said.
“We are at near capacity in our training facilities, so we are looking at how we can best allocate the limited training positions and ensure we can do as much flying as possible.”
The pilots’ association says it hasn’t blocked Qantas and has referred the airline to a clause in the enterprise agreement requiring it to compensate the pilots it overlooks, but the carrier says those regulations don’t apply.
Qantas launched Federal Court action last month to force a decision.
The dispute comes at a major changeover for Qantas as longstanding chief executive Alan Joyce hands the reins to the airline’s chief financial officer, Vanessa Hudson, later this year.
The airline’s reputation has taken a hit since the easing of pandemic measures as customers complained of skyrocketing airfares, mishandled baggage and staff shortages, while facing threats of industrial action from its workforce.
On Tuesday, the High Court will hear a last-ditch bid by the airline to overturn a Federal Court ruling that it illegally outsourced 1700 ground-staff jobs during the pandemic.
The Federal Court found in 2021 the airline had breached the Fair Work Act by sacking its workforce in part to avoid industrial action.
Qantas will fight this point in the High Court, saying its decision was based on commercial reasons, “to save more than $100 million a year when it was struggling to remain solvent”.

[blubak]

Well who knows, the CEO world is different. JQ has been running without one since GE departure. JQ could be the test case if company's actually need a CEO.
I knew GE has gone but i was under the impression that Steph Tully got that gig.
Can somebody confirm or deny?

[MickG0105]

I knew GE has gone but i was under the impression that Steph Tully got that gig.
Can somebody confirm or deny?
That's certainly what Qantas announced to the ASX in September last year.
https://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/displayAnnouncement.do?display=pdf&idsId=02572503

[CaptCloudbuster]

Qantas’ jumbo stoush with pilots over who gets to fly the big jetshttps://archive.md/P8MKL/856ed9c12f36c9db025c5828147d9b2843019bbd.webpBy Angus Thompson (https://archive.md/o/P8MKL/https://www.smh.com.au/by/angus-thompson-h13u28)But the pilots’ association has pushed back, accusing Qantas of circumventing tradition and bypassing career opportunities for those who dream of being the captain of the airline’s largest plane.


Watch your back in the front seat, these SO’s are coming to get ya:}
​​​​​​​

[cloudsurfng]

Watch your back in the front seat, these SO’s are coming to get ya:}


here skipper, I saved you all the chocolate bars. Good for your blood sugar levels 👍🏻

[dr dre]

Qantas wants to recruit pilots externally for 20 coveted second-officer training spots on its A380 jets, rather than draw solely on the ranks of its existing Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A330 pilots.

It’s called the day one lottery and has existed forever. It has to be asked why the union is wasting money on such a small group of pilots who are trying to have the last chance at rorting the system?

If the current SOs want a pay rise they’re welcome to bid for FO, it may mean they have to work for living.

[cloudsurfng]

It’s called the day one lottery and has existed forever. It has to be asked why the union is wasting money on such a small group of pilots who are trying to have the last chance at rorting the system?

If the current SOs want a pay rise they’re welcome to bid for FO, it may mean they have to work for living.

they’ve spent a lifetime looking after the current captains and FO’s that rort various systems…why shouldn’t the SO’s get a look in too?

abd also because the EA is pretty specific on where new hires go

[Beer Baron]

It’s called the day one lottery and has existed forever. It has to be asked why the union is wasting money on such a small group of pilots who are trying to have the last chance at rorting the system?
Qantas negotiated away the ‘First Day Lottery’ 2 EA’s ago. The pilots paid for it in the EA. Now Qantas want to ignore the EA and pretend the old rules apply.

It may only be 20 positions today but Qantas’s own projections show them direct hiring 200 A380 S/O’s over 5 years.

The only ‘rorting’ is being done by Qantas trying to ignore provisions in the the EA that don’t suit them.

AIPA will fight this all the way because they are in the right and this is what members pay their subscriptions for.

[C441]

It's bit like Kerry Packer's 'use' of the tax law to pay more tax no more than he was required. Using the provisions of the Enterprise Agreement to the best advantage to maximise your income is not a rort - by definition a fraudulent or dishonest practice. In some eyes and in some instances it may be seen as unfair or selfish, but rort it ain't.

[cap71n]

$125 million he walks away with

The company successfully threatened 250 or so Second Officers with redundancy when Covid hit to take LWOP or risk losing their jobs, all because on stand-down provisions they accumulate 6 weeks of AL per year.

Someone made a coloured version of the seniority list indicating in red which SO's took the LWOP out of fear of their jobs. It was heavily red towards the bottom of the list as the junior pilots, many of whom have 25-35 years left in this career, were scared into taking LWOP.

The bounce back happened and they began begging them to return early. Most took 3+ years. Some took 5 years. Company after 2 years was begging them to return, and still is as some refuse.

What do 250 SO's accumulating 6 weeks of AL cost the company per year? About $3.5million. They saved maybe $7 million over two years but now are left with hundreds (if not all) of jaded pilots who absolutely hate senior flight ops management and are absolutely fed up.

Bravo. They'll be carrying that burden for the remainder of their careers for decades to come. What a culture. What a vibe.

And the SOs who weren't checked to line prior to 'electing' to take LWOP are being paid first year wages on their return. Imagine the difference that makes in career earnings for the individual. Multiplied forever. But a drop in the ocean for QF.

And now being denied promotion onto the 380. Not even getting bypass pay.

Incredible.

[Upgraded]

It’s called the day one lottery and has existed forever. It has to be asked why the union is wasting money on such a small group of pilots who are trying to have the last chance at rorting the system?

If the current SOs want a pay rise they’re welcome to bid for FO, it may mean they have to work for living.

This mentality highlights why the window seat occupants of the long haul fleets today have such mediocre houses and <10ft boats. They have sat by and argued while their conditions got smashed. Now there are sparkies on salaries that out strip LH FO’s. And they didn’t take 20yrs in line to get that job either.

There is no cohesion even within the small ~2500ish ranks of Mainline let alone the rest of the industry.

The first day lottery as a concept was negotiated away in 2015 in exchange for efficiencies and you didn’t even know that because of your own ignorance and inherent focus on yourself and not the pilot body as a whole. Disgraceful - but not at all surprising.

What if an SO already has many 1000’s of hours of domestic narrow-body experience and doesn’t wish to do that type of work anymore because they simply don’t have to. What if their spouse & kids need them to be a sole carer for blocks of time longer than a day or two. What if they can’t afford a house within a reasonable radius of the major airports? What if they need that extra money to pay the mortgage which is going up at a rate the pay isn’t?

A bit of empathy and compassion goes a long way Dre - but if you are anything like your some of your contemporaries I know that may be an impossible ask.

Good work AIPA for getting behind an issue that affects not only mainline pilots today but all that joined before 330/350 SFF came into being. The SO’s of today have crowd-funded enough largesse so far.

[dragon man]

Aviation (https://archive.md/o/Sc8F4/https://www.smh.com.au/topic/aviation-5ut)

Qantas’ Financial Review boycott: Cuts copies from lounges, in-flight Wi-FiBy Zoe Samios (https://archive.md/o/Sc8F4/https://www.smh.com.au/by/zoe-samios-p4yvph) and Amelia McGuire (https://archive.md/o/Sc8F4/https://www.smh.com.au/by/amelia-mcguire-p4yvpi)May 7, 2023 — 11.40am
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Normal text sizeALarger text sizeAVery large text sizeAQantas is boycotting distribution of national masthead The Australian Financial Review, hiding newspapers from its lounges amid an escalating dispute over the coverage of the airline by one of its most prolific columnists.
Customers have also claimed articles are no longer discoverable on the airline’s in-house Wi-Fi, a situation which appears to have coincided with persistent critical coverage of the airline by Rear Window columnist Joe Aston. https://archive.md/Sc8F4/45f069336fab1fc65ff5921e541c668913dfbecb.webp Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (right) has previously removed newspapers from lounges because of scrutiny.CREDIT: RHETT WYMAN Aston has taken aim at outgoing chief executive Alan Joyce’s leadership, the airline’s fleet and customer service repeatedly in the nine months since the outgoing chief executive claimed he was not a public figure.
The coverage, which appears on the back page of the Financial Reviewhas accused Qantas of fare gouging and the rising cost of capital expenditure, which has since been scrutinised widely by analysts. The Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are owned by Nine.
The Financial Review signed its latest deal with Qantas to make its digital content available to all the airline’s customers in its lounges and on flights last July. The commercial deal gives customers full access to the news, analysis and commentary and is expected to expire later this year. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financial Review appeared in Qantas lounges for years.
It coincided with a similar deal with News Corp’s national masthead The Australian and a switch from Sky News to ABC News in Qantas lounges and across the domestic jet fleet. Play Video
https://archive.md/Sc8F4/6687418de141660a4ce37b569f2a82e0cd223f3c.jpg (https://archive.md/Sc8F4/again?url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-financial-review-boycott-cuts-copies-from-lounges-in-flight-wi-fi-20230504-p5d5qf.html#) https://archive.md/Sc8F4/6687418de141660a4ce37b569f2a82e0cd223f3c.jpg (https://archive.md/Sc8F4/again?url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-financial-review-boycott-cuts-copies-from-lounges-in-flight-wi-fi-20230504-p5d5qf.html#)
Play video
1:10 (https://archive.md/Sc8F4/again?url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-financial-review-boycott-cuts-copies-from-lounges-in-flight-wi-fi-20230504-p5d5qf.html#)Qantas appoints new CEO (https://archive.md/Sc8F4/again?url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-financial-review-boycott-cuts-copies-from-lounges-in-flight-wi-fi-20230504-p5d5qf.html#)
Vanessa Hudson to replace Alan Joyce as Qantas CEO
This isn’t the first time Qantas or Joyce have retaliated to what it perceives to be negative coverage. Joyce pulled millions of dollars in advertising revenue from the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in 2014 and dumped the newspapers from distribution in the aircraft and lounges, over concerns the newspapers were not showing impartiality and were favouring competition Virgin.
In 2014, after Qantas posted a $2.8 billion loss, investigative reporter Adele Ferguson called for Joyce’s resignation. Qantas stopped providing the Herald and The Age on flights soon after in what the airline deemed a review.“We are rationalising the number of newspapers we provide at the gate as part of our transformation, but we will still be providing a full range in our lounges.” A spokesperson said at the time.
Nine’s managing director of publishing James Chessell said Qantas’s decision to censor the newspaper was disappointing.
“It’s disappointing Qantas management has decided to deprive its customers of the country’s best business and finance journalism because it can’t countenance robust criticism.
“We’ve been here before with Qantas, and as always, our editorial independence won’t be affected by commercial pressure. The vast majority of people I speak to think Joe’s Qantas coverage is tough but fair.”
Qantas declined to comment


NOT THE FIRST TIME EITHER. THEY PULLED ALLL ADVERTISING AND NEWSPAPERS FROM FAIRFAX AFTER A STORY ON JETSTAR TO DO WITH A PILOTS PHONE AND A GO AROUND IN SINGAPORE.

[soseg]

since the outgoing chief executive claimed he was not a public figure.

Walk down the street and pick 100 Aussies at random. Ask them to name a CEO of any large company.

He's easily, without competition, the most well known, and as a result, infamous CEO in Australia.

Nobody on the street would know who the CEO of Virgin is. Other big companies like the mining giants? Might take a stab and guess Twiggy @ Fortescue, or is he just an owner? Is Gina the CEO of her company or just the owner? Gerry Harvey at Harvey Norman? Wesfarmers? I genuinely don't have a clue.

He's as well known as the PM. And as liked as the former one.

[dragon man]

Myriam Robin
Chairman’s Lounge ban looms for Labor MPs
Myriam RobinColumnist
May 8, 2023 – 8.00am

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The labour movement sends union officials and allies to Canberra, and once there, Qantas sends them everywhere else, the comforts of the Chairman’s Lounge smoothing their passage from organisers and rabble-rousers to fully-fledged members of the Australian elite. Though not if the plumbing division of the Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union has anything to say about it.
A motion proposed for June’s Victorian Labor Party state conference and distributed to delegates last month aims to add membership of Qantas’ chairman’s lounge to a list of proscribed organisations banned to party members.

Plumbers’ union secretary Earl Setches (left) with Premier Daniel Andrews.
“This motion has gone off like a frog in a sock,” said CEPU federal secretary Earl Setches on Sunday. “I’ve not had a bigger reaction at state conference since I promised to shout everyone a drink. I’m hoping the Chairman’s Lounge faction realise they just don’t have the numbers.”
Speaking of: there are 600 delegates to the ALP’s Victorian conference, half drawn from the union movement and half from Labor’s state branches. The overwhelming majority are affiliated with Daniel Andrews’Socialist Left faction, of which the CEPU is not a member. Setches is nonetheless hopeful the motion gets up, particularly with the Transport Workers Union still bluing with the national carrier over its illegal sacking of workers during the pandemic (Qantas’ High Court appeal over the TWU claim starts next week).
Still, seasoned observers reckon there’s no way the motion is getting to the conference floor without a fight. After all, Qantas’ patronage extends far and wide, and into the Australian union movement. Fair Work commissioners have been sighted at the Chairman’s Lounge, as have senior bureaucrats, judges and (some) union powerbrokers. Even Setches used to be a member, but says he resigned some years ago when “my conscience got the better of me”.
Access is still ubiquitous for federal politicians, all of whom receive an invitation. Last week we noted that not all take it up. That’s still the case, we think, but recent disclosures suggest rather more do than we had reason to believe. After we noted Warren Entsch, Anne Ruston, and Katy Gallagher didn’t list membership of the lounge in their disclosures, they updated their paperwork, suggesting tardy compliance with parliament’s disclosure rules is altogether more common than a politician declining access to what Setches has dubbed “Angry Alan’s grace and favour club”.
Copies of The Australian Financial Review have reportedly been removed from the Chairman’s Lounge, in what appears to be retaliation for critical coverage in this column. It doesn’t really undermine Setches’ impression, does it

[ampclamp]

How pathetic and petty is that? Talk about fragile egos.

Needs to HTFU.

[Lead Balloon]

Always inspiring to see elected union officials and parliamentary representatives of downtrodden workers accepting largesse from those doing the treading. I imagine it would be quite disconcerting if one had to come in contact with the working class when travelling.

[dragon man]

To see the Labour Party federal members who are now in power banned from the chairman’s club would be a wonderful day for Australia. The use of this exclusive club with superior lounges, free upgrades and other perks is appalling. Hopefully if successful the liberal party would follow.

[Lead Balloon]

They wouldn't be prone to be banned if they didn't accept the bribe largesse in the first place...

[dragon man]

They wouldn't be prone to be banned if they didn't accept the bribe largesse in the first place...


That would be like putting an alcoholic in a brewery and asking him not to drink.

[Lead Balloon]

That's why the bribe largesse works.

[dragon man]

HAVE TO LOVE JOE
Rear Window https://archive.md/3c6YB/c7303bb2dd0a7b2cdb147084087488e9dac3a9aa.pngHow low will Alan Joyce go?Joe Aston (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/by/joe-aston-hveym)ColumnistMay 8, 2023 – 7.30pm
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The decision by Qantas in recent days to banish The Australian Financial Review from its lounges and inflight Wi-Fi network (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/the-financial-review-has-disappeared-from-qantas-lounges-20230507-p5d6dw) is only what we’ve come to expect from our national carrier remade in the image of Alan Joyce.
It is, of course, the second such wobbly he’s chucked in 10 years. In 2014, Joyce yanked all Qantas advertising from The Sydney Morning Heraldand The Age and removed all physical copies of those newspapers from Qantas terminals, livid at columnist Adele Ferguson raising the prospect of his sacking (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/can-qantas-airways-boss-alan-joyce-keep-his-head-20140828-109p1y.html?%23ixzz3BvL0NqRI) over the company’s (then) record $2.8 billion annual loss. https://archive.md/3c6YB/b8cb1126e63c742ef1b72d714e9530743bed7181.webp Alan Joyce has constructed a heroic image of himself as the saviour of Qantas. Rhett Wyman It’s an incredibly petty act that actually bears out what we’ve been saying all along about the corrosion of Joyce’s leadership (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/alan-joyce-has-had-enough-20230416-p5d0ve).
This is a decision the public can see, but what other decisions are made beyond our line of sight? Who else has slighted Joyce and suffered the consequences?
The Financial Review is a tiny vendor to Qantas. What becomes of the major catering or engineering supplier who displeases the great man? What is it like for employees who make a mistake, or who fail to genuflect deeply enough?RELATED QUOTESQAN (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/company/asx/qan)Qantas$6.370 0.79%1 year (https://archive.md/3c6YB/again?url=https://www.afr.com/rear-window/how-low-will-alan-joyce-go-20230508-p5d6sd#QANYear)1 day (https://archive.md/3c6YB/again?url=https://www.afr.com/rear-window/how-low-will-alan-joyce-go-20230508-p5d6sd#QANDay)May 22Nov 22May 234.2005.6007.000 Updated: May 8, 2023 – 9.50pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.
View QAN related articles (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/company/asx/qan)This isn’t about a few missing newspapers, but the pattern they represent. Nobody derives profound egoic injury from a single cut. This is a lifelong practice, directing inordinate energies to persecuting those who won’t deify you.
Remember, the most important thing to Joyce isn’t money. He’s made $130 million (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/alan-joyce-s-24m-golden-parachute-20230329-p5cwgc), so he doesn’t need any more of that. The most important thing in the world to Joyce now is what other people think of him.
In his mind, clearly, he has constructed a heroic image of himself as the saviour of Qantas. He truly believes this. Indeed, he may be incapable of believing anything else.Saviour narrativeThis is why Joyce makes statements that come across as comically self-unaware. He cannot express gratitude for the Australian government handing Qantas $2.7 billion (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/alan-joyce-has-canberra-all-figured-out-20230226-p5cnp0) during the pandemic. He even goes as far as claiming Qantas “ended up getting very little government support”. (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/alan-joyce-the-man-who-wasn-t-there-20220828-p5bdel) He is unable to acknowledge that taxpayers helped rescue Qantas because it is incompatible with his conviction that he alone rescued Qantas.
This is why he says: “I would’ve retired a few years ago, I agreed to stay … to help the company get through a terrible crisis,” when in May 2019, well before COVID, the Qantas board had publicly confirmed a three-year extension of his tenure. Joyce had erased this from his mind (https://archive.md/o/3c6YB/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/vanessa-hudson-a-new-qantas-ceo-in-denial-20230502-p5d52r), again, because it conflicts with his saviour narrative.
This is also why he internalises the company’s successes and externalises all of its failures. On being 11 weeks from bankruptcy but getting Qantas through COVID, and on its record profitability, he leans heavily into his own agency. On lost bags, schedule chaos and woeful customer service, those are just ailments of the entire global airline industry.
All of this delusion is enabled by Joyce’s chairman, [b]Richard Goyder, from whom Joyce garners sympathy by playing the vulnerable teenager. Goyder is fully signed up to all of Joyce’s narratives. The duo exhibit all the dynamics of an enmeshed family. It is frankly creepy.
Joyce is particularly sensitive about any threats to his hero story because he is at a delicate juncture in his life. His borrowed power is evaporating, the countdown is on, and he is transitioning to Mr Altruism, Mr Community. Joyce is seeking moral elevation right as his balloon is losing air.
The sad fact is that Alan Joyce is emotionally ill-equipped to cope with his dead-set legend complex falling apart upon close public inspection. It is absolutely devastating to him – after 15 years of almost uninterrupted adulation – to be seen for what he really is: just another overpaid, insecure, unexceptional businessman who believes his own bull****; just another CEO who did to his company what was best for himself.
Joyce has sustained the deepest wound to his internal dialogue, and his rage is like a wildfire. It goes to any opportunity, it knows no proportion, it descends to every pettiness. He probably realised how silly purging the Financial Review would make him look, but his ego defence overrides any calculation of consequences.
Luckily, Qantas isn’t sophisticated enough to lose my bags on purpose and to ban me from flights they’d need a CRM system that isn’t held together by rubber bands and twine. Instead, Joyce will just have to slip salt in my sugar bowl.

[ampclamp]

Now that is what I call an evisceration.

Those last few paragraphs, wow!

[blubak]

Now that is what I call an evisceration.

Those last few paragraphs, wow!
Wonder what the wobbly will be like if the Twu win in the high court.
We must also remember the wobbly he threw when he shut the airline down because he couldnt get his own way.
These tantrums are what 1 would expect out of a spoilt 2 yr old child but in his case its coming from someone who likes to bully & stand over whoever he can.
Will the culture change after he goes,who really knows!

[DBMeridien]

100% nailed this Joe.

[Pinky the pilot]

blubak; Check your pm's.

[Wonderworld]

Wonder what Alan did to Joe when he worked in Public Affairs.

[dragon man]

https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/05/12/emirates-pays-employees-six-months-worth-of-salary-bonus-after-posting-2-9b-record-profit/

There is only one employee in Qantas who will get a bonus like that and we all know who that is.

[blubak]

https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/05/12/emirates-pays-employees-six-months-worth-of-salary-bonus-after-posting-2-9b-record-profit/

There is only one employee in Qantas who will get a bonus like that and we all know who that is.
Looks like a genuine bonus,not 1 of those with conditions attached such as subject to signing an eba that will actually cut your wages & many other ifs & buts.
Im sure the little soon to be ceo could tink(think) up many reasons why his employees should not get any bonuses.

[dragon man]

I WOULD CALL IT PRICE GOUGING MYSELF
Investors will love Qantas’ profit plan, fliers less soQantas repeatedly described its position in Australian aviation as “advantaged” on Tuesday, and it’s determined to lock in today’s high profit margins for tomorrow. May 30, 2023 – 4.50pm
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Alan Joyce’s final investor day as Qantas chief executive was a testament to the power of work he’s done steering the airline through to the other side of the pandemic, and the big task facing his successor, Vanessa Hudson (https://archive.md/o/BhwMN/https://www.afr.com/link/follow-20180101-p5d4wi).
As most travellers would know through their lived experience, Qantas’ domestic EBIT margins have leapt from an average of about 12 per cent pre-COVID to about 18 per cent at present thanks to surging demand, limited capacity and a domestic aviation sector structure that means Qantas takes 80 per cent of the profit pool. https://archive.md/BhwMN/04a0c2021ff4fc3f3b0f529223b7de11b96d8065.webp New Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson will take delivery of a new plane every three weeks for three years under the airline’s fleet investment program. David Rowe But the fact that Qantas believes it can hold its EBIT margin at 18 per cent for the foreseeable future (https://archive.md/o/BhwMN/https://www.afr.com/link/follow-20180101-p5dccp) says the airline is dead right when it says it has an “advantaged share” of the domestic sector.
There are several factors driving this sustained margin improvement.
A huge part, of course, is the drastic – and controversial – work Joyce did to slash $1 billion from the airline’s cost base over the past 18 months. The restructuring of Australia’s domestic aviation networks, both by Qantas, is another part of the platform.
The new planes that Qantas will deploy over the next few years will be important too, with per-seat costs on the new Airbus 220 aircraft an impressive 21 per cent lower than the Boeing 717s they will gradually replace.
But with the outlook for demand still extremely strong, Qantas will also be able to keep prices high. Or, as it says in a more polite way, ensure it continues to get a “premium yield” out of each seat.
The word “premium” appears 22 times in the Qantas presentation, and the airline went to some length to explain how it sees the market; Qantas serving the corporate, SME and premium leisure market (there’s that word again) and Jetstar focused on the more price-sensitive end of the domestic market, with plenty of cheap fares on offer.
But Jetstar’s forecast margin trajectory also speaks to its dominant market position; the group expects EBIT margins to jump from between 10 per cent and 11 per cent up to 15 per cent, just above the pre-COVID level of 14 per cent.
There was less detail on Tuesday about the financial burden Qantas faces over the coming years from fleet renewal, and investors will want more from Hudson on this front when she takes the pilot’s seat.
But the investor day emphasised that Hudson will make these fleet investments from a strong position; Qantas used the word “advantaged” on Tuesday to describe its position in several markets, its balance sheet and its profitability.
The next seven years are about exploiting those advantages in a sector where demand will keep outstripping supply for some time to come

[Lookleft]

Is she wearing a red tie in that cartoon? GROUND THE AIRLINE ITS UNSAFE!

[dragon man]

Brace for higher fares on Qantas’s ultra-long flights Istanbul: Passengers hoping to snag a seat aboard a Qantas “Project Sunrise” ultra-long-haul flight should brace for high airfares.
Incoming Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson says the carrier’s direct flights from Australia’s east coast to London and New York will run at a 20 per cent premium, doubling down on the airline’s estimation the routes will deliver a $400 million profit bump (https://archive.md/o/nToUO/https://www.smh.com.au/link/follow-20170101-p5dccc) when fully operational.
The first of these ultra-long services will launch with Sydney to London in 2025, and the project is expected to be fully operational by 2030. https://archive.md/nToUO/1ca47b18d16c99d89a6c46e8bec2bfdbbe0d6477.webp Incoming Qantas boss and current chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson expects the airline’s direct services to London and New York from Australia’s east coast to deliver high returns. CREDIT: RHETT WYMAN Hudson, currently the airline’s chief financial officer, told a media roundtable at the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting that the airline expected the routes to deliver at least the same 20 per cent premium as the Perth to London service.
“We think it’s very reasonable to say, given the markets in Melbourne and Sydney are bigger premium markets, that we would get what we’re getting today on Perth to London.”
Chief executive Alan Joyce said the indicative Sunrise route network was focused on where the airline will be able to tap into premium travellers who are willing to pay to travel directly.
“The big market for us has historically been the UK, to Europe and North America ... We think the London route is a growth opportunity where there’s a lot of first-class and premium travellers willing to pay the premium for this aircraft,” Joyce said.
Hudson also said the 12 A350s that will service the routes will have more premium seats than the current international fleet of Boeing 787s. The A350s will also have a higher payload than the 787s, which will enable higher freight loads.Qantas’s fleet of A350s will have just 238 seats, about 100 fewer than rivals Qatar and Cathay which will fly the aircraft on long-haul routes from Australia.
Qantas expects the running costs of the Sunrise route to be lower than the current international services as the airline will not have to incur airport fees or any other costs resulting from stopping mid-flight. The airline will offset 100 per cent of the Project Sunrise route emissions from the outset.
The airline will look to sell its fleet of 28 A330s in the second half of this year. Qantas has been criticised over the average age of its fleet, which now sits at 15 years, older than its international rivals that fly to Australia. The average age of its A330 fleet hovers around 16 years.
Qantas’s fleet modernisation program “Project Winton” will refresh its domestic and international arms. The airline expects the program to cost $5 billion over the next five years, but analysts expect the figure will be closer to $15 million.
Including the A350s, the airline has ordered 118 aircraft to be delivered over the next 10 years including 12 Airbus 350-1000s, 20 A220s and 20 A321XLRs. The first of the A321s and A220s will begin arriving this year and will, along with 109 A320neos, replace Qantas’s current domestic and short-haul international fleet of Boeing 737s and 717s and increase the number of seats by 40 per cent.
The modernisation means passengers will be travelling on more fuel efficient, quieter aircraft with more seat capacity, but it’s not yet clear how much travellers will have to pay for the pleasure

[Global Aviator]

The SQ ULR A350 has 67 business and 94 premium economy seats = 161 seats.

QF stating they will have just 238 seats 🙃 which means a mix of business premium and economy.

[A320 Flyer]

First - Business - Premium Economy - Economy

There are preposed seat maps floating around

[davidclarke]

“The airline will look to sell its fleet of 28 A330s in the second half of this year.”

Thats a bit premature considering they haven’t even ordered the replacement yet……..🙄

[dragon man]

[QUOTE=davidclarke;11446506]“The airline will look to sell its fleet of 28 A330s in the second half of this year.”

Thats a bit premature considering they haven’t even ordered the replacement yet……..🙄[/QUOTE

I think they have actually it’s the 321XLR .

[davidclarke]

[QUOTE=davidclarke;11446506]“The airline will look to sell its fleet of 28 A330s in the second half of this year.”

Thats a bit premature considering they haven’t even ordered the replacement yet……..🙄[/QUOTE

I think they have actually it’s the 321XLR .


The initial batch of 321XLRs are to replace early build 737s. There has been no announcement of 330 replacement so to say your selling them prior to replacing them is odd……

[Lapon]

[QUOTE=dragon man;11446514]


The initial batch of 321XLRs are to replace early build 737s. There has been no announcement of 330 replacement so to say your selling them prior to replacing them is odd……

I think it was a tongue in cheek comment suggesting that at least some 330s will be replaced by an eventual order of 321XLRs instead of widebodies.

[tossbag]

I think he's talking about Qantas saying that.

[dragon man]

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/68072372_9a52_46ef_9483_b584d919705d_8c7a086f1819833993aec2d dca430d8cc58c38ec.png

[Transition Layer]

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/68072372_9a52_46ef_9483_b584d919705d_8c7a086f1819833993aec2d dca430d8cc58c38ec.png
Where’s the dislike button :yuk:

[gordonfvckingramsay]

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/68072372_9a52_46ef_9483_b584d919705d_8c7a086f1819833993aec2d dca430d8cc58c38ec.png

I think that’s a nice clue to the carcass he’s knowingly left behind.

[RealSatoshi]

I think that’s a nice clue to the carcass he’s knowingly left behind.
The same shares he was rewarding staff with, this in lieu of proper wage increases and on the premise of signing substandard EBA's...now he himself doesn't want to touch those same shares.

None of this should be a surprise to anyone - always ask yourself and your union - What are they NOT telling Us...?

[dragon man]

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/ebf3a23d_c6c6_42b3_801a_edc17e94316b_c7af31c94df888819cbb663 7254d29cc4b72a74a.png

[aussieflyboy]

You can blame this muppet all you want for your sub-standard wage but if you voted yes for a rubbish EA then it’s solely your fault.

This puppy patter simply found a way to pay for the increase in the super guarantee and the dumb Pilot groups keep voting yes…

[ampclamp]

We can see why he has carried out several share buy backs instead of investing in the business.

[dragon man]

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/b1e8c4cb_d65a_486b_8bca_274472d831ed_694e27b0778d7d9f8180ec9 8e34239f0d7604947.png
MAKING GEOFF DIXIN LOOK GOOD

[RealSatoshi]

In 1989 Aussie Pilots saw the writing on the wall...

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1376x1318/screenshot_2023_06_07_at_10_59_25_735b99a9141418da31e478cda5 85d0d933f4b5a3.png

[tossbag]

The bloke is pure scum, he embodies everything that is bad about corporate Australia. If it's part of the Board's job to ensure shareholder value is protected then they are complicit in this pig of a human being ripping shareholders off.

But aussieflyboy is 100% correct, weak as piss unions allowing him to get away with ripping you off too.

[dragon man]

The bloke is pure scum, he embodies everything that is bad about corporate Australia. If it's part of the Board's job to ensure shareholder value is protected then they are complicit in this pig of a human being ripping shareholders off.

But aussieflyboy is 100% correct, weak as piss unions allowing him to get away with ripping you off too.

Weak as piss unions are because of their weak as piss membership who nearly always take the money and run.

[gordonfvckingramsay]

Weak as piss unions are because of their weak as piss membership who nearly always take the money and run.

Not weak as piss pilots who turn on their fellow pilots?

Remember, the enemy is management mate, not pilots who are forced to take what’s thrown at them in orders to keep their house.

[dragon man]

Not weak as piss pilots who turn on their fellow pilots?

Remember, the enemy is management mate, not pilots who are forced to take what’s thrown at them in orders to keep their house.

Its mostly management but some pilots who are elected as office bearers and then go into management have to take a lot of the blame IMO.

[gordonfvckingramsay]

Its mostly management but some pilots who are elected as office bearers and then go into management have to take a lot of the blame IMO.

Agreed. The rank and file guys/girls are usually just managing the threat and trying to keep their house. Pilots who aspire to management have obviously suffered an integrity failure.

[dragon man]

Agreed. The rank and file guys/girls are usually just managing the threat and trying to keep their house. Pilots who aspire to management have obviously suffered an integrity failure.

There we differ I don’t think integrity was ever in their DNA.

[blubak]

Not weak as piss pilots who turn on their fellow pilots?

Remember, the enemy is management mate, not pilots who are forced to take what’s thrown at them in orders to keep their house.
Never a truer word said.
I was in engineering for many years & was amazed to see many of my colleagues sucked in when a new manager appeared & wanted to be 1 of the boys.
Of course there were always some who were convinced the new manager on the scene was a good bloke however my belief has always been that no qantas manager should ever be considered as a friend & ultimately they showed their true colour.

[aussieflyboy]

It always amuses me when a fellow Pilot tells me he/she recently had so and so from the management team in the jumpseat for a jolly… rule number 1 of jumpseat requests is check the name and confirm they’re not on the list AND that they are not management/legal/IR.

[Ollie Onion]

It always amuses me when a fellow Pilot tells me he/she recently had so and so from the management team in the jumpseat for a jolly… rule number 1 of jumpseat requests is check the name and confirm they’re not on the list AND that they are not management/legal/IR.

Yes, I refused a headoffice 'Manager' the Jumpseat about 5 years ago and was promptly called by my boss to suggest I release the seat, I refused and said I wasn't in the mood to have another person on the flight deck and they were welcome to find another Captain. Why should I entertain a Manager who spends most of their time dismantling the terms and conditions of my job?

[Australopithecus]

I take a hard “no” stance on management jump seat riders. In fact I refused a request two weeks ago to his face. I further informed him that he was inappropriately dressed for staff travel let alone the jump seat. As luck would have it a pilot requested the seat a few minutes later, and he was pleasant company for the trip.

I may rethink my policy though…perhaps it might be good for them to see us wade through 38 logged defects and get a ring-side seat for the various sh*t show antics and delays.

[dragon man]

Mark Di Stefano (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/by/mark-di-stefano-p536dp)ReporterJun 8, 2023 – 8.00

This week, our sister Street Talk column broke the news (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/street-talk/alan-joyce-sells-17m-in-qantas-shares-20230606-p5defk) that Qantas CEO Alan Joyce had sold $17 million worth of shares to fund the purchase of an apartment overlooking Sydney Harbour. Recent disclosures paint a fuller picture of Joyce’s great Qantas divestment. https://archive.md/0MIJY/49b40929034f122fcd7a6bca8ead20264ef86fae.webp Outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Rhett Wyman Last Thursday, he sold 2,500,000 Qantas shares at a price of $6.75, netting him $16,875,000, according to a filing with the ASX. By the close of the market, Joyce was left with 490,243 shares, owned directly and through a trust, according to a company spokesman.
It means the CEO had sold a whopping 83 per cent of his personal stake in Qantas built up over his 15-year career. The filing discloses that Joyce sold these shares straight into the market.
At the same time, Qantas was in the process of a multi-month share buyback which, of course, rewards shareholders by reducing the number of shares outstanding, boosting the share price.
After sucking on taxpayer money during the pandemic, Qantas announced a $500 million repurchase of shares in February. During a May 23 trading update – with the buyback 78 per cent compete – Qantas announced the share buyback was being extended by another $100 million.
A company buying back shares supports a price from where it would be otherwise. On May 31 – the day before Joyce flooded into the market on his selling spree – Qantas bought more than 4.25 million of its own shares. The day of Joyce’s sales, the company acquired another 1.85 million. It has continued buying each trading day.
Last Thursday, Qantas’ share volume traded by all participants in the market was 14.9 million, according to Bloomberg. Joyce’s share sell-down accounted for more than 16 per cent of the company’s trading volume that day. The company’s share price has fallen about 8 per cent since that day.
Joyce certainly won’t be the first CEO to sell personal shares into a company stock buyback. This column has highlighted Domino’s Pizza CEO Don Meij doing just that in 2018, flaring the attention (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/dominos-forced-to-issue-fourth-statement-in-as-many-days-on-don-meij-20180227-h0wqkc) of the ASX.
Joyce’s sales had the approval of chairman Richard Goyder. Of course, Goyder has been pivotal in Joyce’s accumulation of Qantas stock, through the company’s remuneration scheme, later approved by shareholders.
In fact, Joyce has only once put his own hand in his pocket to buy Qantas stock, purchasing the maximum $30,000 worth of shares during the company’s 2020 share purchase plan.
There are around 2.5 million shares coming to the outgoing CEO in August, granted through an equity incentive program. Others will be on a three-year vesting schedule. But from November, Joyce will no longer need to disclose what he does with those shares.
That’s why this one-day, $17 million mega-share sale is particularly notable, being our last, final glimpse into what the veteran chief executive thinks of the Qantas share price. And right now, Joyce is a seller.

[havick]

Mark Di Stefano (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/by/mark-di-stefano-p536dp)ReporterJun 8, 2023 – 8.00

This week, our sister Street Talk column broke the news (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/street-talk/alan-joyce-sells-17m-in-qantas-shares-20230606-p5defk) that Qantas CEO Alan Joyce had sold $17 million worth of shares to fund the purchase of an apartment overlooking Sydney Harbour. Recent disclosures paint a fuller picture of Joyce’s great Qantas divestment. https://archive.md/0MIJY/49b40929034f122fcd7a6bca8ead20264ef86fae.webp Outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Rhett Wyman Last Thursday, he sold 2,500,000 Qantas shares at a price of $6.75, netting him $16,875,000, according to a filing with the ASX. By the close of the market, Joyce was left with 490,243 shares, owned directly and through a trust, according to a company spokesman.
It means the CEO had sold a whopping 83 per cent of his personal stake in Qantas built up over his 15-year career. The filing discloses that Joyce sold these shares straight into the market.
At the same time, Qantas was in the process of a multi-month share buyback which, of course, rewards shareholders by reducing the number of shares outstanding, boosting the share price.
After sucking on taxpayer money during the pandemic, Qantas announced a $500 million repurchase of shares in February. During a May 23 trading update – with the buyback 78 per cent compete – Qantas announced the share buyback was being extended by another $100 million.
A company buying back shares supports a price from where it would be otherwise. On May 31 – the day before Joyce flooded into the market on his selling spree – Qantas bought more than 4.25 million of its own shares. The day of Joyce’s sales, the company acquired another 1.85 million. It has continued buying each trading day.
Last Thursday, Qantas’ share volume traded by all participants in the market was 14.9 million, according to Bloomberg. Joyce’s share sell-down accounted for more than 16 per cent of the company’s trading volume that day. The company’s share price has fallen about 8 per cent since that day.
Joyce certainly won’t be the first CEO to sell personal shares into a company stock buyback. This column has highlighted Domino’s Pizza CEO Don Meij doing just that in 2018, flaring the attention (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/dominos-forced-to-issue-fourth-statement-in-as-many-days-on-don-meij-20180227-h0wqkc) of the ASX.
Joyce’s sales had the approval of chairman Richard Goyder. Of course, Goyder has been pivotal in Joyce’s accumulation of Qantas stock, through the company’s remuneration scheme, later approved by shareholders.
In fact, Joyce has only once put his own hand in his pocket to buy Qantas stock, purchasing the maximum $30,000 worth of shares during the company’s 2020 share purchase plan.
There are around 2.5 million shares coming to the outgoing CEO in August, granted through an equity incentive program. Others will be on a three-year vesting schedule. But from November, Joyce will no longer need to disclose what he does with those shares.
That’s why this one-day, $17 million mega-share sale is particularly notable, being our last, final glimpse into what the veteran chief executive thinks of the Qantas share price. And right now, Joyce is a seller.

Joyce created his own pump and dump scheme. What he did isn’t illegal, but it should be.

[aussieflyboy]

Did this mob honestly just send out an email to everyone saying “Qantas will fund the SG increase in July this year and in 2024 (to 11.5 per cent) and 2025 (to 12 per cent) for all employees, ensuring there is no impact to take home pay”.

Is the management team that dumb that they don’t think we’ve noticed by restricting a pay rise to 3% (initially 2%!) while CPI sits at 7% the staff have effectively paid for the increase to the Super Guarantee!

Honestly this is why I go mid duty fatigued whenever I find out a board member or ‘management’ person is paxing on my flight.

[dragon man]

Did this mob honestly just send out an email to everyone saying “Qantas will fund the SG increase in July this year and in 2024 (to 11.5 per cent) and 2025 (to 12 per cent) for all employees, ensuring there is no impact to take home pay”.

Is the management team that dumb that they don’t think we’ve noticed by restricting a pay rise to 3% (initially 2%!) while CPI sits at 7% the staff have effectively paid for the increase to the Super Guarantee!

Honestly this is why I go mid duty fatigued whenever I find out a board member or ‘management’ person is paxing on my flight.


Are you not forgetting about the two year wage freeze also which means over 5 years you get 9% or an average of 1.8% per year. Do you want no Vaseline or the Vaseline with sand in it?

[megan]

It always amazes me how the rationale is you have to pay top dollar to these goons in order to get the best talent yet they turn around and tell the work force that you're paid too much and have to tighten your belts.

[dragon man]

It always amazes me how the rationale is you have to pay top dollar to these goons in order to get the best talent yet they turn around and tell the work force that you're paid too much and have to tighten your belts.


The one that used to crack me up was when the top end of town said if we can’t get huge salaries we will be recruited to work overseas and Australian companies really need our talent and expertise.

[Beer Baron]

Honestly this is why I go mid duty fatigued whenever I find out a board member or ‘management’ person is paxing on my flight.
Hahahaha, what BS. Oh do tell us, which board member did you have onboard and where did you pull the pin? CSM regularly brief you on the passenger manifest?
I bet you cowered in your seat, did your job as well as you ever do, then went online a told the world what a hero you are.

[dragon man]

‘Slap in the face’: Qantas looks to Kiwi crew for New York flightshttps://archive.md/ECXq6/50600661a73bb4caa08a420a72f7a25ceb5f8df8.webpBy Amelia McGuire (https://archive.md/o/ECXq6/https://www.smh.com.au/by/amelia-mcguire-p4yvpi)A stoush is brewing between Qantas and some of its flight attendants over a new route to New York, which staff say should be crewed by Australians.
Qantas launched 16-hour flights from Auckland to New York (https://archive.md/o/ECXq6/https://www.smh.com.au/link/follow-20170101-p5dg6l) on Wednesday to replace its pre-pandemic route, which involved a stopover in Los Angeles. The airline is now being criticised over its choice to use New Zealand-based cabin crew on the route, with staff claiming the carrier made the decision because the Kiwi flight attendants have fewer rest entitlements.
The head of the Flight Attendants Association of Australia Teri O’Toole said Qantas’s decision to crew the route with New Zealanders and not existing members of the airline’s Australian workforce was a “slap in the face”. https://archive.md/ECXq6/f95c806d17a53d4040f2a6b01a12fbf244dcc870.webp Qantas will operate three weekly flights from Sydney to New York, increasing to four per week from October. The route will transit through Auckland for the first time, before a 16+ hour flight direct to New York.CREDIT: JAMES D MORGAN “After Australian taxpayers gave Qantas more than $2 billion in support to retain their staff during COVID-19, it seems like a slap in the face that Australian workers have been denied this work,” O’Toole said.
The association surveyed its members in March 2023 to see whether they would consider amending their rest entitlements to secure one third of the flying on the JFK route. According to an email from the association to its members, the confidential survey was prompted by a request from Qantas to consider the proposal. https://archive.md/ECXq6/86bccca1043b650505c971178b740813b1876935.webp An excerpt from the email sent by the Flight Attendants Association of Australia to members in March. The New Zealand-based flight attendants – who are employed by former Qantas subsidiary Jet Connect – recently voted to reduce the minimum amount of rest airlines are required to provide staff in the event of an 18 hour flight from 50 hours to 40 hours. The association believes this is the reason the New Zealand staff were chosen to work the route.
“It is a slippery slope to chase destinations by reducing your conditions. Of course our members would like to go to New York and carry Australians, but at what cost. The community should be outraged that after making $2.5 billon in profit, Qantas would choose and encourage work groups to reduce agreed conditions,” O’Toole said. Play Video
https://archive.md/ECXq6/e7ca4f41ee996fb2ccc1f784cdde11eafc389d02.jpg (https://archive.md/ECXq6#) https://archive.md/ECXq6/e7ca4f41ee996fb2ccc1f784cdde11eafc389d02.jpg (https://archive.md/ECXq6#)
Play video
1:47 (https://archive.md/ECXq6#)Qantas offering 'neighbour-free' flights on select routes (https://archive.md/ECXq6#)
Qantas is offering customers the chance to book a "neighbour-free" flight on some domestic routes.Qantas denied the difference in risk entitlements was the reason for the crewing decision, and said the airline had actually increased the NZ-based crew’s rest entitlements from 24 hours to 40 to bring them in line with the carrier’s fatigue risk management program. Given the route will commence with three services a week before increasing to four, the crew on the JFK service will have more than 49 hours of scheduled rest over two nights before their return flight to Auckland.
An airline spokesperson said it had employed New Zealand cabin crew for more than two decades, “given the longest leg of the flight to New York departs from Auckland, it makes sense for them to operate this service”.
“We’re hiring more than 1400 Australian-based cabin crew this year alone and promoting hundreds more as additional wide-body aircraft enter service, and we continue to ramp up international flying.”
The association’s disillusionment follows accusations from the Australian and International Pilots Association the carrier had “outsourced the spirit of Australia” after unveiling a new agreement with Finnair earlier this month.
Qantas committed to lease two Airbus A330s from Finnair to help the airline meet its goal of returning to 100 per cent of pre-COVID-19 international flying capacity by March 2024. The agreement to lease the aircraft stipulates Qantas will also use Finnair pilots and cabin crew – known as “wet leasing” – for the first two years of the four-year arrangement.


WHY WOULD THEY HAVE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE ANY DIFFERENT QANTAS DOESN’T GIVE A S##T ABOUT ITS BLUE COLLAR STAFF

[Icarus2001]

QANTAS...we still call Australia 51% home.

[airdualbleedfault]

Mark Di Stefano (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/by/mark-di-stefano-p536dp)ReporterJun 8, 2023 – 8.00

This week, our sister Street Talk column broke the news (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/street-talk/alan-joyce-sells-17m-in-qantas-shares-20230606-p5defk) that Qantas CEO Alan Joyce had sold $17 million worth of shares to fund the purchase of an apartment overlooking Sydney Harbour. Recent disclosures paint a fuller picture of Joyce’s great Qantas divestment. https://archive.md/0MIJY/49b40929034f122fcd7a6bca8ead20264ef86fae.webp Outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Rhett Wyman Last Thursday, he sold 2,500,000 Qantas shares at a price of $6.75, netting him $16,875,000, according to a filing with the ASX. By the close of the market, Joyce was left with 490,243 shares, owned directly and through a trust, according to a company spokesman.
It means the CEO had sold a whopping 83 per cent of his personal stake in Qantas built up over his 15-year career. The filing discloses that Joyce sold these shares straight into the market.
At the same time, Qantas was in the process of a multi-month share buyback which, of course, rewards shareholders by reducing the number of shares outstanding, boosting the share price.
After sucking on taxpayer money during the pandemic, Qantas announced a $500 million repurchase of shares in February. During a May 23 trading update – with the buyback 78 per cent compete – Qantas announced the share buyback was being extended by another $100 million.
A company buying back shares supports a price from where it would be otherwise. On May 31 – the day before Joyce flooded into the market on his selling spree – Qantas bought more than 4.25 million of its own shares. The day of Joyce’s sales, the company acquired another 1.85 million. It has continued buying each trading day.
Last Thursday, Qantas’ share volume traded by all participants in the market was 14.9 million, according to Bloomberg. Joyce’s share sell-down accounted for more than 16 per cent of the company’s trading volume that day. The company’s share price has fallen about 8 per cent since that day.
Joyce certainly won’t be the first CEO to sell personal shares into a company stock buyback. This column has highlighted Domino’s Pizza CEO Don Meij doing just that in 2018, flaring the attention (https://archive.md/o/0MIJY/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/dominos-forced-to-issue-fourth-statement-in-as-many-days-on-don-meij-20180227-h0wqkc) of the ASX.
Joyce’s sales had the approval of chairman Richard Goyder. Of course, Goyder has been pivotal in Joyce’s accumulation of Qantas stock, through the company’s remuneration scheme, later approved by shareholders.
In fact, Joyce has only once put his own hand in his pocket to buy Qantas stock, purchasing the maximum $30,000 worth of shares during the company’s 2020 share purchase plan.
There are around 2.5 million shares coming to the outgoing CEO in August, granted through an equity incentive program. Others will be on a three-year vesting schedule. But from November, Joyce will no longer need to disclose what he does with those shares.
That’s why this one-day, $17 million mega-share sale is particularly notable, being our last, final glimpse into what the veteran chief executive thinks of the Qantas share price. And right now, Joyce is a seller.

17 million, almost half of which goes to Albo and his dip5hit mate Chalmers

[unobtanium]

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/770x431/3d2665dc_b024_4fd7_bdd8_4d33b06beea0_88995acb93cf9d9e42ea35b 3dd8d6daae8b4bd5f.jpeg

Wherever your from, A or NZ, if you accept these working condition's your should be shamed of yourselfs, absoluelty no dignity or self respect

[tossbag]

17 million, almost half of which goes to Albo and his dip5hit mate Chalmers

Do you genuinely believe he'll pay half of this in tax? :} he would have the best accountant in Sydney on this, make that the best accountant in India seeing everything else is outsourced to other countries.

[neville_nobody]

Wherever your from, A or NZ, if you accept these working condition's your should be shamed of yourselfs, absoluelty no dignity or self respect


Other than resignation I’m not sure what options you have if that’s approved by CASA.

[SOPS]

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/770x431/3d2665dc_b024_4fd7_bdd8_4d33b06beea0_88995acb93cf9d9e42ea35b 3dd8d6daae8b4bd5f.jpeg

Wherever your from, A or NZ, if you accept these working condition's your should be shamed of yourselfs, absoluelty no dignity or self respect

I have said this several times….we are about to find out how bad the shell is that Alan is leaving behind. Whoever thought that letting him run Qantas was a good idea, should be shot.

[cLeArIcE]

Other than resignation I’m not sure what options you have if that’s approved by CASA.
It's actually pretty simple. The key is enough people need to do it. Cost them money. It only takes a month or two of large groups of crew calling in fatigued for them to take action. It's not that they care about fatigue it's that you are costing them money.

[dragon man]

Do you genuinely believe he'll pay half of this in tax? :} he would have the best accountant in Sydney on this, make that the best accountant in India seeing everything else is outsourced to other countries.

He doesn’t need to, the tax law for executive bonus shares allows them to pay the CGT in the financial year of their choosing, ie if the vesting price was $2.50 and 6 months later the share price was $3 they can pay tax on the 50 cents after that it’s all tax free.

[A320 Flyer]

He doesn’t need to, the tax law for executive bonus shares allows them to pay the CGT in the financial year of their choosing, ie if the vesting price was $2.50 and 6 months later the share price was $3 they can pay tax on the 50 cents after that it’s all tax free.

You couldn’t make this **** up if your tried…. Why is the world set up to benefit these oxygen thieving grubs

[MickG0105]

He doesn’t need to, the tax law for executive bonus shares allows them to pay the CGT in the financial year of their choosing, ie if the vesting price was $2.50 and 6 months later the share price was $3 they can pay tax on the 50 cents after that it’s all tax free.
Would you care to provide a reference to "the tax law for executive bonus shares allows them to pay the CGT in the financial year of their choosing" because I couldn't find anything even vaguely along those lines in the ATO rules and the taxation consultants I have spoken to were not aware of any such a provision.

​​

[dragon man]

The Employee Share Scheme (ESS) rules: under the ESS rules, where rights or shares are issued to employees at a discount to market value, the discount is included in the employee's assessable income (and therefore taxed at their marginal rate of tax) in the year of income in which the rights or shares are issued, unless the issuance is structured to comply with the tax deferral rules or another concession applies;

My bad it’s marginal tax in the year of issue.

[MickG0105]

The Employee Share Scheme (ESS) rules: under the ESS rules, where rights or shares are issued to employees at a discount to market value, the discount is included in the employee's assessable income (and therefore taxed at their marginal rate of tax) in the year of income in which the rights or shares are issued, unless the issuance is structured to comply with the tax deferral rules or another concession applies;

My bad it’s marginal tax in the year of issue.
Or at the deferred taxing point in the case of schemes that involve:

the risk of forfeiture (eg where the issue of rights or shares is contingent upon some future requirement such as meeting performance hurdles or continuing employment), or
restrictions on the ability of the employee to trade the issued rights or shares.

The deferred taxing point is always the earlier of a few different criteria relating to forfeiture risk and trading restrictions.

Any which way, the Taxman cometh.

[PoppaJo]

The next instalment from Mr Joe Aston, for tomorrow’s AFR, unpaywalled for you.

Alan Joyce’s lines aren’t landing any more


Joe Aston (http://safari-reader://www.afr.com/by/joe-aston-hveym)
Columnist
Aug 27, 2023
Rear Window
https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_220%2C$height_220/t_crop_fill%2Cq_auto:best%2Cfl_any_format/ec4e2451514f597f7c1053bb930b9eddeb534380

In 126 days, Qantas is set to legally steal approximately half a billion dollars from its customers.After 15 years at the controls of Qantas, having mastered the performance art of gaslighting the nation, Thursday was the final outing of Alan Joyce’s full-court press.

All of his delusions were on display as the airline revealed – and Joyce feverishly image-managed – its record $2.47 billion pre-tax profit for 2023.



He persisted with the utter fallacy that “My intent was to [retire] before COVID but extended to get the company through”. It is a matter of public record (https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/qantas-ceo-to-keep-job-amid-reshuffle-20190501-p51ivy) that nine months before COVID-19 struck, the Qantas board extended Joyce’s tenure by “at least” three years. Sticking around made him another $30 million.

“We were 11 weeks from bankruptcy,” he claimed anew. This is another raging falsehood. When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, Qantas had almost $2 billion in cash and $5 billion in unencumbered assets it could borrow against. The capital markets were open, so Joyce could issue equity or raise debt (he did both, as well as begging money off the government). The idea that Qantas was ever facing liquidation is sheer make-believe.

This fabrication is a key pillar of Joyce’s hero myth. It is absolutely central to the fable in which he saved Qantas. Joyce is a trained mathematician – he understands the weight of numbers. He knows that if he repeats this line sufficiently often, people will adopt it as fact – as they surely have.



Saying “11 weeks” also gilds it with the hint of precision, which makes the lie sound credible. If Qantas was truly 77 days from extinction, where was that warning in its market announcements of the day? Actually, Joyce told the ASX on March 10, 2020, “We’re in a good position to ride this out.”

Joyce also claimed on Thursday that allowing his arch rival Qatar Airways to launch 28 new flights a week to Australia “could actually distort the market”. Which market is that? The market in which the Australian dollar is weak, global travel demand is roaring but Qantas International charges passengers 52 per cent more by flying 28 per cent less than it did before COVID-19? Qatar’s flights could distort the market that’s rigged in Alan’s favour and we can’t have that.

Qantas even asserted that “in inflation adjusted terms … international fares are [now] 10 per cent higher [than pre-COVID].” Inflation adjusted! Do Qantas customers get to pay the inflation-adjusted price in Alan’s magical world (https://www.afr.com/rear-window/alan-joyce-s-helsinki-final-act-20230522-p5dael)?Unverifiable figuresQantas international fares (or revenue per kilometre flown) over the past six months are up 52 per cent versus 2019, yet in the same period, Australia’s cumulative inflation was 16 per cent. That’s a 36 per cent increase in inflation-adjusted terms, so how does Qantas get 10 per cent? By using unreleased, unverifiable figures limited to the fourth quarter, it turns out.

We’re surprised Joyce didn’t use Argentinian inflation for his calculation. That would square with his historical patterns of reasoning. “When you consider this in Zimbabwean dollar terms, I’m really not shafting you that badly.”



I’m still a very large shareholder in Qantas and I more than meet the minimum … level that the CEO is expected to hold,” Joyce said next. Literally any day now, he will receive 3.1 million Qantas shares for which he paid nothing – his glorious golden handshake.

But on June 1, Joyce sold 92 per cent of the Qantas shares he owned, raising $17 million (to buy an apartment that only cost $9 million) and taking him well below his minimum shareholding requirement. Qantas chairman Richard Goyder allowed this like he’s allowed everything else.

Joyce dumping his Qantas stake before he’s even left – more than anything else – lights up the discrepancy between what he says and what he does. Joyce has more than enough other wealth with which to fund an apartment. Why would he sell his Qantas shares if he genuinely believed that “the future for Qantas has never looked better”?The sneakiness continuesBut Joyce reserved his biggest deception for his portrayal of the great Qantas flight credit racket (https://www.afr.com/rear-window/the-great-qantas-flight-credit-racket-20230327-p5cvpp). “What we’ve now done is we’ve put a dedicated concierge line in. The call centre now, yesterday, was three minutes to get through and there’s a dedicated set of experts that can help you get your credits. We recognise that … we didn’t get it right and we needed to fix it and the important thing is, we did fix it … we’ve only got $370 million of credits left … and we’d rather have those credits at zero by the end of the year.”

Let’s just back up a second. The Qantas Group disclosed “total COVID travel credits of $800 million” at December 31 last year. All remaining unused credits will expire on December 31 this year.



On June 26, the company announced “around $400 million in COVID credits now remaining for Qantas customers in Australia”. That is, their updated balance, which appeared to have fallen, actually excluded Qantas customers outside Australia and excluded all Jetstar customers. The sneakiness – the bad faith – of this company never ceases to astonish.

The remaining $370 million Joyce cited on Thursday still excludes Jetstar customers and Qantas customers outside Australia (we asked Qantas for the full number, but the company refused to provide it). This means two things: first, that the total balance of credits is probably greater than $500 million; and second, that only about $30 million of credits have been redeemed in the two months since Qantas declared they’re now so easy to claim back.

What a performance by Joyce. “Ring us and in three minutes flat, you’ll have your money.” If that were really true, why isn’t the balance budging? Joyce must be issuing the refunds in Argentinian pesos.Class actionWhy hasn’t Qantas automatically refunded the balance owing to any customer’s credit card that is yet to expire? Or why can’t Qantas post a bank cheque to every customer it has a mailing address for (given most are members of its Frequent Flyer program)? If the cheque is returned, so be it. Why can’t Qantas transfer the money into the lost super system administered by the Australian Taxation Office? The answer: because any of that might actually work.

These credits are now the subject of a class action (https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/qantas-sued-over-misleading-flight-credits-refunds-20230821-p5dy5o), as they should be.

Whenever there’s a civil disturbance, people go out and start looting. Corporations do it too and that’s clearly what Qantas did during COVID-19. They backed up their truck, drove it through the plate glass window of the Australian public and loaded up on our money. These are not trivial amounts for people. Thirty-eight per cent of the credits are over $500.

Joyce and Vanessa Hudson understand behavioural psychology – they understand that customers give up if Qantas makes it hard enough and they can dehumanise their theft by calling it “breakage”. They’ve charged their customers without providing a service and are now on the brink of confiscating their money. How is this any different to the fees for no service scandal over which AMP and National Australia Bank paid tens of millions in fines only after being excoriated by a royal commission?

In 126 days, Qantas is going to legally steal approximately half a billion dollars from its customers. It is staggering. Joyce will be retired in Antarctica, but that massive haul will drop straight into Hudson’s first half-year result as pure profit. That’s what Joyce really meant when he said the future has never looked better! What a ball-tearing result for him to sell the rest of his shares into.

Will the ACCC do nothing? Will Minister for Qantas Catherine King and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese do nothing? You bet they will.

Joyce ended his press conference on Thursday more than 20 minutes early with a queue of reporters still waiting to ask their questions. He is clearly rattled. He’s endured intense scrutiny before but always sailed through and won the argument of the day. His lines aren’t landing any more, he’s lost the mob, and that’s because nowadays, he punches down at Qantas customers and he punches down at Australian taxpayers.

That’s why the facade is cracking. Alan still sings Hero in the shower. He still pulls his made-to-measure suit over his Superman costume each morning. But deep down he knows the Australian public no longer believes him.

Herein lies the danger of letting power intoxicate you, of spending years unchallenged by views that don’t reinforce your own. When you inevitably emerge from your fever dream, reality’s no picnic.

[HongKongflu]

Laughing all the way to the bank...............What a busted airline it has become. While I work my arse off as an FO making minimum payments on my mortgage & spending the rest at Coles & on school fees.....20 years in...