Joyce ‘retires’ early 👍
I would imagine this thread reads like 'same old, same old'. I'm adding to it because I think (like others previously) this thread is a pretty good summary to hand someone who might be interested. Any book anyone might like to write has all the details and written quotes already from posts on this website.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the fine print to decipher Qantas’ new customer-centric strategy
Elizabeth Knight
Business columnist SMH September 25, 2023 — 3.37pmIIt is nothing short of bizarre that the new Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson’s sales pitch to customers is that she isn’t Alan Joyce, her former boss.
First because Hudson had her fingerprints on many of Joyce’s decisions that made him a customer service pariah.
And second because she is seeking to distance herself from a man – love him or loathe him – who was one of the all-time money-generating machines of the aviation industry.
Working the crowd: New Qantas chief Vanessa Hudson (left) meets staff at Melbourne Airport.CREDIT: GETTY
It is a gymnastic feat to straddle her plans to inject some anaesthetic to Qantas’ customer “pain points” while making good on promises to retain profitability.
On Monday, Hudson provided the first bit of tangible news on how, under her leadership, customers will receive better treatment. Until now, it has just been an excruciating exercise in watching Hudson and the board invent new ways to say sorry.
But translating Qantas’ public statements is something of an art form – separating the message the airline wants to convey with some less palatable realities.
Of course Qantas doesn’t use the words “higher airfares”. Instead, it says “it will look to adjust its settings” in response to higher fuel costs.
Take chairman Richard Goyder’s press release last week on former chief Alan Joyce’s remuneration. It suggested Joyce could lose $14.4 million in pay, but a closer inspection showed he was docked less than half-a-million dollars and the rest is up to the board’s discretion.
So, Monday’s headline message from Qantas was it plans to spend an extra $80 million on customer improvements. It sounded like a lot of money but when it is dispersed between better in-flight food, improvements in the customer call centre, increasing the number of flights that can be redeemed using points, and improving the app, it doesn’t sound like such a big sacrifice to make to profit.
That’s $80 million extra expenditure derived from what was a near $2.5 billion in profit in 2023.
Also, the Monday message contained the less palatable threat that airfares may go up if the oil price remains at current levels.
Qantas flags potential airfare hikes as fuel bill bites
Fuel costs have gone up by $200 million since May last year, some of which is the result of more flying. Qantas says it has absorbed these costs but suggests if they continue to rise the customer is going to start paying. It clearly wants to recoup these costs even but says it is mindful of the already high airfares and appreciates the elevated cost of living that its customers are already living with.Of course Qantas doesn’t use the words “higher airfares”. Instead, it says “it will look to adjust its settings” in response to higher fuel costs.
There are no prizes for guessing how customers will feel about paying even more in airfares – given they are already 50 per cent higher than pre-COVID.
And then Qantas announced under the heading “capacity and network update” that international capacity will grow 12 percentage points during the last three months of this calendar year.
But no mention of this additional capacity showing up on the much-needed flights from Australia to Europe.
The new Qantas CEO has apologised and promised to fix the national carrier.
The 50 additional flights includes Qantas resuming its Sydney-Shanghai services and starting two new routes, Brisbane-Wellington and Brisbane-Honiara, and a new Jetstar service from Brisbane to Tokyo.
That said, Hudson is navigating a particularly difficult start to her time at the top.
In normal circumstances, a new chief executive begins their reign either of two ways.
If they are replacing a chief executive who has presided over poor profits, the replacement will announce an entirely new strategy.
If the former chief has presided over a booming business, the new chief will declare the strategy will continue.
Only a month ago when Qantas announced its $2.47 billion profit for 2023, Hudson allied herself strongly with Joyce, calling the airline “blessed” to have had him as its leader.
So much has changed in four weeks.
“I wasn’t the chief executive then. I am the chief executive now,” she told the media last Friday as she apologised for the airline’s treatment of customers.
Bravo AIPA. Calls for QF Chairman to resign 
The following 12 users liked this post by CaptCloudbuster:
No, the rot started with the fellow wearing the bow tie.
He started outsourcing, he started paying executives (starting with himself) millions of dollars per annum, he treated older Qantas staff like they were crap and brought in cronies from his TAA days who did dumb things like moving the ops to T4 at LHR when 90% of in and out traffic was transfers to T2 and T1 (why? because he'd gotten rid of all the international expertise) and a host of other things, cost millions and had to be put back to how it was within a few years, one of the cronies had to resign for sending company work to their own consultancy. Thankfully the BA people on the board had some influence and we ended up with QUBE, not that excuse for a system, the toy LDP and TAARSAN.
He wanted the name of the company changed to something else. He brought Dixon in, Dixon brought Joyce in.
No, the rot started with Mr bow tie.
I remember shortly after he started, a delay with a braking system problem, and it took a day to solve because under Mr Bow Tie, the brakes and wheel servicing had been outsourced and, happy to be corrected on this, I believe that included selling the items themselves.
Under him, Sydney Airport got a GM who allegedly sat at his desk with barefeet in a sandbox in his office and wanted to start meetings with a singalong.
No matter what anyone thought of older Qantas management, if you'd suggested anything like that, they'd throw you out of the building.
With all due respect to the misfortune of departing early from this earth, no one deserves that and I wouldn't have wished it upon even him, but there was more than a grain of truth in the joke that went around in the latter half of the 1990s "What have Qantas and McDonald's got in common?" Answer, "both run by a clown with a bow tie".
It saddens me that there were so many pioneering executives that were part of Qantas, many CEOs through the 70s and 80s and who gets their name on an aeroplane? No Ron Yates, no Bert Richie, guess who?
What I'd say about Dixon and Joyce is that the line had been pushed so far by their immediate predecessor where nothing was sacred any more that they were able to just step over it without anyone noticing - the proverbial frog in the boiling water.
Sack the board, put John F (Tubby) Ward in as Chair if he wants it, let him pick the rest of the board and the CEO. Let the company's direction and repair be under the influence of someone who was probably the last CEO who 'loved' the company and was quite happy to be paid a 'mere' $250K per annum.
AND, let's adopt the German idea of making it mandatory to have an employee on the Board of Directors. Seems to work wonderfully well there.
He started outsourcing, he started paying executives (starting with himself) millions of dollars per annum, he treated older Qantas staff like they were crap and brought in cronies from his TAA days who did dumb things like moving the ops to T4 at LHR when 90% of in and out traffic was transfers to T2 and T1 (why? because he'd gotten rid of all the international expertise) and a host of other things, cost millions and had to be put back to how it was within a few years, one of the cronies had to resign for sending company work to their own consultancy. Thankfully the BA people on the board had some influence and we ended up with QUBE, not that excuse for a system, the toy LDP and TAARSAN.
He wanted the name of the company changed to something else. He brought Dixon in, Dixon brought Joyce in.
No, the rot started with Mr bow tie.
I remember shortly after he started, a delay with a braking system problem, and it took a day to solve because under Mr Bow Tie, the brakes and wheel servicing had been outsourced and, happy to be corrected on this, I believe that included selling the items themselves.
Under him, Sydney Airport got a GM who allegedly sat at his desk with barefeet in a sandbox in his office and wanted to start meetings with a singalong.
No matter what anyone thought of older Qantas management, if you'd suggested anything like that, they'd throw you out of the building.
With all due respect to the misfortune of departing early from this earth, no one deserves that and I wouldn't have wished it upon even him, but there was more than a grain of truth in the joke that went around in the latter half of the 1990s "What have Qantas and McDonald's got in common?" Answer, "both run by a clown with a bow tie".
It saddens me that there were so many pioneering executives that were part of Qantas, many CEOs through the 70s and 80s and who gets their name on an aeroplane? No Ron Yates, no Bert Richie, guess who?
What I'd say about Dixon and Joyce is that the line had been pushed so far by their immediate predecessor where nothing was sacred any more that they were able to just step over it without anyone noticing - the proverbial frog in the boiling water.
Sack the board, put John F (Tubby) Ward in as Chair if he wants it, let him pick the rest of the board and the CEO. Let the company's direction and repair be under the influence of someone who was probably the last CEO who 'loved' the company and was quite happy to be paid a 'mere' $250K per annum.
AND, let's adopt the German idea of making it mandatory to have an employee on the Board of Directors. Seems to work wonderfully well there.
The following 2 users liked this post by lucille:
They are sitting on $3.1B of unredeemed frequent flyer revenue.
interestingly no talk about the segment performance. Jetstar on 20% more ASKs than QF domestic is producing only around half the operating margin yet seems to be the segment under soonest fleet renewal whilst QF domestic remains largely capital starved for another few years.
A test of the new management would be to own up that Jetstar is not the amazing performer of the group.
Here's a suggestion VH. Transfer upcoming Jetstar 320/321 deliveries to QF domestic for urgent fleet renewal. Transfer Jetstar 787s (worst performing segment) to QF east-west domestic to allow more QF 330s to be used for international Ops or retired. Much better margins in QF both domestic and international.
Put the capital where the best margins are you idiots.
You dont need BCG to tell you what to do.
interestingly no talk about the segment performance. Jetstar on 20% more ASKs than QF domestic is producing only around half the operating margin yet seems to be the segment under soonest fleet renewal whilst QF domestic remains largely capital starved for another few years.
A test of the new management would be to own up that Jetstar is not the amazing performer of the group.
Here's a suggestion VH. Transfer upcoming Jetstar 320/321 deliveries to QF domestic for urgent fleet renewal. Transfer Jetstar 787s (worst performing segment) to QF east-west domestic to allow more QF 330s to be used for international Ops or retired. Much better margins in QF both domestic and international.
Put the capital where the best margins are you idiots.
You dont need BCG to tell you what to do.
I have heard through word of mouth JQ is leasing the old planes and their new airbus fleet is happening ahead of QF to bring their costs down as they’ll own the jets . Correct me if I’m wrong.
The following users liked this post:
The reports I've read say that AIPA wrote to the Qantas CEO to say that AIPA has lost confidence in Goyder and the Board. That tactic doesn't make sense to me.
The CEO doesn't hire and fire the Chairman or Board members. It's the other way around. And even if it weren't, the current CEO would be unlikely to sack the Board which appointed her.
The shareholders hire and fire the Board. The shareholders should be firing the lot.
The CEO doesn't hire and fire the Chairman or Board members. It's the other way around. And even if it weren't, the current CEO would be unlikely to sack the Board which appointed her.
The shareholders hire and fire the Board. The shareholders should be firing the lot.
Funny how they are all silent while the dollars were flowing in .
Save
ShareQantas shares fell on Tuesday after brokers began downgrading the stock, concerned higher spending on repairing its relationship with customers and higher fuel expenses will end a run of higher profits.
CLSA became the first major broker to recommend clients sell Qantas shares in a year, while Citi analysts cut the company’s valuation by 14 per cent to $6 per share. Qantas fell as much as 2.7 per cent in early trade on Tuesday.
On Monday, Qantas announced it would spend at least an extra $80 million to resolve service issues even while fuel costs have risen by $200 million. It’s the first hit to profits from initiatives put in place to resolve mounting customer acrimony about delayed flights and poor service.
Qantas’ new spending will hurt profits, with brokers downgrading the company’s share price target. Oscar Colman Senior executives are expected to face a Senate inquiry on Wednesday. The inquiry is investigating why the government blocked Qatar Airways, a major Qantas competitor, from flying more services to Australia and what role – if any – was played by the national carrier in lobbying for that decision.
While investors have benefited from a surge in airline profits as demand for travel increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, disquiet is growing at how much Qantas will have to spend to retain customers and deal with legal and regulatory issues that accumulated under the company’s former chief executive, Alan Joyce. Mr Joyce left two months before he was due to depart, handing over to chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson this month.
Ms Hudson has flagged the company would consider bringing call centres back to Australia, opening up more frequent flyer seats, and making other changes to rebuild its reputation.
“There has been no shortage of press related to poor customer service which Qantas is starting to respond to with new initiatives and incremental spend,” said Barrenjoey’s Matt Ryan and Annie Zhu in a note to clients, downgrading its share price target 17 per cent to $7.20. “We have assumed the $80 million called out ... will grow again in future releases, and we have factored in a total of $200 million per annum to account for this.
“We have factored some cost mitigation in for Qantas from [the second half of this financial year] but acknowledge that some of the customer service initiatives will flow through to the bottom line on a permanent basis.”
CLSA advised its clients to sell, reducing its price target to $5.60.
Qantas shares were trading at $5.14 late on Tuesday morning, down 1.7 per cent. They have slid almost 16 per cent in the last month alone.
Totus Capital portfolio manager Ben McGarry told The Australian Financial Review last month that Qantas had a “sniff of AMP” to it – a reference to the years of regulatory scrutiny, higher costs and brand damage that affected the one-time financial services giant after a decade of strong profits ended.
Qantas faces potential fines of as much as $250 million after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged it sold tickets on thousands of cancelled flights. It has already decided to scrap the expiry date on $570 million of flight credits, and could be forced to pay up to $200 million in penalties after the airline was found to have illegally sacked 1700 workers.
Qantas will hold its annual meeting on November 3. The airline’s pilots have already called for the company’s chairman, Richard Goyder, to resign over the sackings, while large superannuation fund investors have flagged they want more accountability for the sinking share price from directors.
Brokers slash Qantas valuations as cost of reputation damage mounts
Kylar Loussikian and Ayesha de KretserSep 26, 2023 – 11.51amSave
ShareQantas shares fell on Tuesday after brokers began downgrading the stock, concerned higher spending on repairing its relationship with customers and higher fuel expenses will end a run of higher profits.
CLSA became the first major broker to recommend clients sell Qantas shares in a year, while Citi analysts cut the company’s valuation by 14 per cent to $6 per share. Qantas fell as much as 2.7 per cent in early trade on Tuesday.
On Monday, Qantas announced it would spend at least an extra $80 million to resolve service issues even while fuel costs have risen by $200 million. It’s the first hit to profits from initiatives put in place to resolve mounting customer acrimony about delayed flights and poor service.
Qantas’ new spending will hurt profits, with brokers downgrading the company’s share price target. Oscar Colman Senior executives are expected to face a Senate inquiry on Wednesday. The inquiry is investigating why the government blocked Qatar Airways, a major Qantas competitor, from flying more services to Australia and what role – if any – was played by the national carrier in lobbying for that decision.While investors have benefited from a surge in airline profits as demand for travel increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, disquiet is growing at how much Qantas will have to spend to retain customers and deal with legal and regulatory issues that accumulated under the company’s former chief executive, Alan Joyce. Mr Joyce left two months before he was due to depart, handing over to chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson this month.
Ms Hudson has flagged the company would consider bringing call centres back to Australia, opening up more frequent flyer seats, and making other changes to rebuild its reputation.
“There has been no shortage of press related to poor customer service which Qantas is starting to respond to with new initiatives and incremental spend,” said Barrenjoey’s Matt Ryan and Annie Zhu in a note to clients, downgrading its share price target 17 per cent to $7.20. “We have assumed the $80 million called out ... will grow again in future releases, and we have factored in a total of $200 million per annum to account for this.
“We have factored some cost mitigation in for Qantas from [the second half of this financial year] but acknowledge that some of the customer service initiatives will flow through to the bottom line on a permanent basis.”
‘Higher risk premiums’
At Citi, Samuel Seow said that there were already questions around Qantas’ earlier guidance that last year’s $4.5 billion “would be the structurally higher earnings base”. The investment bank has incorporated “higher risk premiums into our discount rates/multiples to account for upcoming regulatory, legal, and political overhangs,” Mr Seow told clients.CLSA advised its clients to sell, reducing its price target to $5.60.
Qantas shares were trading at $5.14 late on Tuesday morning, down 1.7 per cent. They have slid almost 16 per cent in the last month alone.
Totus Capital portfolio manager Ben McGarry told The Australian Financial Review last month that Qantas had a “sniff of AMP” to it – a reference to the years of regulatory scrutiny, higher costs and brand damage that affected the one-time financial services giant after a decade of strong profits ended.
Qantas faces potential fines of as much as $250 million after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged it sold tickets on thousands of cancelled flights. It has already decided to scrap the expiry date on $570 million of flight credits, and could be forced to pay up to $200 million in penalties after the airline was found to have illegally sacked 1700 workers.
Qantas will hold its annual meeting on November 3. The airline’s pilots have already called for the company’s chairman, Richard Goyder, to resign over the sackings, while large superannuation fund investors have flagged they want more accountability for the sinking share price from directors.
Gosh you folks are hard to please.
There was an article in news.com this morning (grain of salt may be required) that Richard has just been given a $100,000.00 a year pay rise so he must be doing something right.
Cheers Hoss.
There was an article in news.com this morning (grain of salt may be required) that Richard has just been given a $100,000.00 a year pay rise so he must be doing something right.
Cheers Hoss.
If it’s true that Alan Joyce (AC) has refused to appear, the Senate should summons him to appear and enforce the summons. If it refuses to, it will show that the ‘inquiry’ is pantomime.
Last edited by Lead Balloon; 26th Sep 2023 at 10:02.
I think the AIPA statement was probably in response to Goyder stating that he had spoken to people and they wanted him to stay. Now the Australian Shareholder's Association is saying they want him to go. Its not a pile on but rather a public expression of frustration and that one section of the frontline staff have had enough.
The following 2 users liked this post by Lookleft:
Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce will not sit before the select committee on the rejection of Qatar Airways.
CREDIT:
BLOOMBERG
“The senate committees have the power to summons witnesses within Australia but have no enforceable powers for witnesses who are overseas,” McKenzie said.
The committee has summonsed him upon his arrival back in Australia before the committee, even though he is not expected to be available before the Senate reports its terms of reference.
Newly minted Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson, who was unexpectedly elevated to the position early after Joyce’s shock departure, will appear on Wednesday with chair Richard Goyder in Canberra.
A representative from Qatar Airways is also expected to attend.
CREDIT:
BLOOMBERG
“The senate committees have the power to summons witnesses within Australia but have no enforceable powers for witnesses who are overseas,” McKenzie said.
The committee has summonsed him upon his arrival back in Australia before the committee, even though he is not expected to be available before the Senate reports its terms of reference.
Newly minted Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson, who was unexpectedly elevated to the position early after Joyce’s shock departure, will appear on Wednesday with chair Richard Goyder in Canberra.
A representative from Qatar Airways is also expected to attend.
A true leader: Alan Joyce (AC), bravely avoiding parliamentary scrutiny by staying overseas. Hopefully he won’t come back.
Last edited by Lead Balloon; 26th Sep 2023 at 10:01.
The following 2 users liked this post by Lead Balloon:
Personally, I'd be happy if the whole team were swept out faster than Bud Fox at Bluestar Airlines. I apologiise for the gratuitous Joyce photo's - they make me ill as well. At this stage (for me) - Vanessa is fast approaching that level.
Personally, I'd be happy if the whole team were swept out faster than Bud Fox at Bluestar Airlines. I apologiise for the gratuitous Joyce photo's - they make me ill as well. At this stage (for me) - Vanessa is fast approaching that level.
Qantas shareholders demand chairman Richard Goyder's resignation as investors place rest of board on notice
The Business/
By business reporters Kate Ainsworth and Kirsten Aiken
Key points:
- The Australian Shareholders' Association says Qantas chair Richard Goyder must resign after recent scandals
- The group has also placed the Qantas board on notice ahead of its Annual General Meeting in November
- Mr Goyder and CEO Vanessa Hudson will face a grilling at a Senate inquiry over the Qatar Airways' rejection in Canberra on Wednesday
"We think it's time for [Richard] Goyder to step down," chief executive Rachel Waterhouse told The Business.
"Richard Goyder is just one of the board members, and he is the first among equals as far as being the chair."
Last week Mr Goyder told the ABC that he had the backing of the airline's biggest shareholders and its board.
"The latest read I've got on that is that people want me to continue to do the role, and I think I'm well suited to do it," he told The World Today.
"Shareholders are very supportive of the work we're doing now, of the new CEO, and certainly of me."
But Ms Waterhouse said the shareholders she had spoken to were not offering messages of support to Mr Goyder.
"What I've been hearing from retail shareholders [is] that change is required, and that Richard Goyder should step down," she said.
"That dialogue has been changing over the last few weeks as more issues came to light, but it's clear there is a leadership change required.
"So many facts have come to light which question the ability to oversee the CEO and the management team, and the questions around the timing of a payment of Alan Joyce's share sale, and that is a concern to retail shareholders."
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder has been facing mounting calls to resign in recent weeks as scandals have engulfed the airline.(ABC News: Keane Bourke)Ms Waterhouse said the remaining members of the Qantas board should consider themselves as being on notice to improve the airline's culture.
"The board have made a decision around the CEO … now they need to reflect on what they knew, at what time, what was appropriate, and the risks that they oversight," she said.
"The board does need to contemplate themselves, and the skills required for the future."
Qantas' board is comprised of 10 members. In addition to Mr Goyder and CEO Vanessa Hudson are Maxine Brenner, Jacqueline Hey, Belinda Hutchinson, Michael L'Estrange, Doug Parker, Todd Sampson, Heather Smith and Antony Tyler.
Ms Waterhouse said Mr Goyder should resign after appearing at the airline's annual general meeting in November when there is a "clear succession plan in place".
Hudson's time as CEO not 'untenable' yet
Ms Waterhouse said the position of Qantas' current CEO, Ms Hudson, had not become "untenable at this stage", but warned it depended on the legal challenges facing the airline.Joyce's fall from grace is something to behold
Alan Joyce will leave Qantas after 15 years with $125 million, while the airline's operations have suffered and its reputation has been trashed.Read more"But it could become untenable, depending on what information comes out," Ms Waterhouse said.
"Particularly around the ACCC allegations … and what she may have known at that point in time."
Ms Waterhouse said there was a "possibility" that investors would deliver a first strike against directors' remuneration at Qantas' November AGM.
"As more and more things come to light, retail shareholders are as disappointed as consumers around the service that they have received," she said.
"They're also concerned around the fact that there was a really great year for Qantas ... and now it looks like there are fines, compensation, required fleet upgrades.
"There's a lot of costs coming all the way to shareholders, and so we need confidence around what's next, and that leadership is in place and they're fixing the issues."
Ms Hudson was announced as Qantas' next CEO in May and began in the role in early September, after Mr Joyce retired from the airline two months ahead of his planned November departure.
More shareholders yet to comment
The ASA is the first major shareholder group to have publicly called for the resignation of Mr Goyder as Qantas chair. It represents retail shareholders, which altogether make up about 10 per cent of Qantas' total shareholdings, according to the airline's latest annual report.The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), which represents major superannuation funds that hold Qantas shares, has not yet taken a public stance against the board.
Qantas paid former CEO Alan Joyce $21.4 million last financial year
Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce was paid $21.4 million in the last financial year, but more than half could be subjected to a clawback by the airline's board.Read moreHowever, ACSI last week said it was seeking clarity and greater accountability from Qantas' board for ongoing customer issues, illegally sacking workers in 2020, and the ACCC investigation in the wake of its annual report, which CEO Louise Davidson said was "interesting for what it doesn't say".
ACSI, along with public sector investors, including Future Fund, have been reported to control more than 20 per cent of Qantas' shares.
Both the ASA and ACSI had been carefully reviewing Qantas' annual report, which was released last Wednesday and confirmed that Mr Joyce was paid $21.4 million by the airline in the last financial year.
Qantas' annual report however noted that $14.4 million of Mr Joyce's final payout could be at risk, depending on the outcome of the ACCC's Federal Court action over allegations the airline sold tickets for flights that had been cancelled.
Qantas has denied any wrongdoing.
Goyder, Hudson to face Senate grilling
The ASA's stance comes a day after the pilots union, the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), demanded Mr Goyder resign, stating it had "totally lost confidence" in him, the board, and the company's chances to move forward under his leadership.AIPA's president Tony Lucas said Mr Goyder had overseen "one of the most damaging periods in Qantas' history" and "the morale of Qantas pilots had never been lower".
On Tuesday, Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten also suggested Mr Goyder should resign after the High Court ruled Qantas illegally sacked 1,700 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I don't know what makes a board or chair resign these days," he told Channel Nine.
Greens leader Adam Bandt also called for Mr Goyder and the Qantas board to step down from their positions on Tuesday afternoon.
Both Mr Goyder and Ms Hudson are expected to receive a grilling over whether Qantas lobbied the federal government to deny Qatar Airways' request for an additional 28 flights a week.
Transport Minister Catherine King has denied she was motivated to protect Qantas' market share when she made her decision, and had repeatedly said the decision was in the "national interest", but has not elaborated on what that encompasses.
How the Qatar Airways drama unfolded
A decision announced in July to deny Qatar Airways more flights to major Australian cities has resulted in accusations of protectionism for Qantas, criticism from the private sector and ACCC, and a parliamentary inquiry. This is how it all unfolded.Read moreMs King has since suggested that rejecting Qatar Airways' bid was made within the "context" of five Australian women being strip-searched at Doha Airport in October 2020, but said there was "no one factor" that influenced her decision.
Her decision has been criticised by current and former bosses of the ACCC, who said granting the additional flights to Qatar Airways would have reduced airfares.
Wednesday's Senate appearance comes after Ms Hudson issued a public apology last Friday for a series of scandals that have damaged Qantas' reputation, acknowledging the airline had been "hard to deal with" and promising to rebuild trust with customers.
On Monday, Qantas made good on Ms Hudson's promise, announcing it would spend an additional $80 million on fixing customer "pain points" on top of $150 million it had previously set aside for improving customers relations.
Qantas will hold its annual general meeting for shareholders in Melbourne on November 3.
-------
The following 2 users liked this post by Bootstrap1: