Over the last week, Australia's main carrier Qantas Airways (QUBSF) -) has incurred a lot of customer wrath.
A consumer protection group on Aug. 31 filed a lawsuit accusing it of selling tickets for more than 8,000 flights it never intended to run during the pandemic. This all comes at a time amid burgeoning frustration over rising prices justified by inflation and the cost of fuel even as the airline reported record profits during multiple quarters.
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Amid growing calls to resign and investor pressure amid the airline's dropping stock, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce ended his 15-year career at the helm by going into early retirement. Joyce had already been slated to pass the role onto CFO Vanessa Hudson in November 2023 — she will be the first female boss in the airline's 103-year history.
'Clearly much work still to be done,' outgoing CEO says
"The best thing I can do under these circumstances is to bring forward my retirement and hand over to Vanessa and the new management team now, knowing they will do an excellent job," Joyce announced in a statement on Sept. 4.
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Joyce added that there is a lot he is "proud of over his 22 years at Qantas" and 15 years as CEO but "there is clearly much work still to be done." The airline has also recently been accused of wasting "eye-watering amounts" of money fighting back a lawsuit over firing workers during the pandemic and then outsourcing the jobs.
Prior to the announcement of his resignation, Joyce released a recorded video message responding to the ticket booking scandal and informing customers that they would be able to get a full refund for canceled flights with Qantas and travel vouchers for those with budget offshoot JetStar.
"These credits and vouchers will never expire," Joyce said in the Aug. 31 video. "We're doing this because we've listened."
Even with the apology and travel credit pivot, public confidence in Qantas was tanking as many Australians took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the airline.
Qantas now left with long journey in 'restoring the public's confidence'
While Joyce has helped lead the airline to record profits of $2.47 billion Australian dollars (roughly $1.58 billion USD) in the last year, this is not the first time Joyce has received backlash. In July 2022, his waterfront Sydney home was defaced with eggs and toilet paper.
Rumored to reach nearly $24 million Australian dollars (roughly $15.32 million USD) in bonuses and company shares, the renumeration package Joyce is supposed to receive upon his exit from the airline has also become a major source of contention. Even before his stepping down, local Members of Parliament have been urging Qantas shareholders to vote it down due to Joyce's role in rejecting Qatar Airways offer to provide more flights to Australia in order to keep competition down.
Joyce did not respond to journalist questions on calls for a lower severance package at the press conference but said that he was ready to "leave knowing that the company is fundamentally strong and has a bright future."
Qantas board chair Richard Goyder also said that the airline will undertake the "important job" of "restoring the public's confidence in the kind of company we are."
