Alan Joyce Steps Down as Qantas CEO

Facts

• Alan Joyce, who has helmed Australian airline Qantas for 15 years, has announced that he will be resigning from his post on Wednesday — two months ahead of schedule. This comes amid mounting controversy over the airline's service quality and reputation.¹
• The airline has faced numerous recent scandals, such as a lawsuit from Australia's competition watchdog filed last week which claimed the company sold 8K tickets for flights between May and July 2022 without disclosing that they had been canceled.²
• Qantas issued two apologies for the incident, while also facing scrutiny for a now-reversed move to let 500M AUD ($323M) in pandemic-era flight credits expire by the end of the year. The airline also faces concerns over layoffs as well as criticism for lobbying the government to curb the expansion of Qatar Airways.³
• The airline has posted record earnings as of late, with Joyce bearing the brunt of the public outrage. Qantas has said that the airline has struggled to recover from the COVID pandemic, with Joyce saying his departure will help Qantas "move ahead with its renewal."⁴
• For the past two years, Qantas has been the airline most complained about to Australia's consumer watchdog, with pressure building on the board to withhold Joyce's executive bonuses when he departs. There is also pressure to investigate their connection to the government over the Qatar Airway affair.⁵
• Joyce will be succeeded by Qantas chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson, the first woman to lead the airline. Unions welcomed the news of Joyce's departure, while the company's chairman thanked him for his leadership.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²CNN, ³Reuters, ⁴Bloomberg, and ⁵The Guardian.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Financial Review. Joyce was a titan in the notoriously tough air travel industry, with his longevity as CEO being a testament to this. He weathered economic hardships and the COVID pandemic, all while upholding an impeccable safety and service record. While short-term grievances against Qantas are overshadowing his contributions to Australia's aviation industry, history will remember him fondly in the long term.
• Narrative B, as provided by Geelong Advertiser. Under his leadership, Joyce has turned Qantas from the "spirit of Australia" to the shame of it. Abysmal customer service, deception, and insulting product quality all contributed to much-deserved public anger against Joyce. For his troubles, Joyce will likely be rewarded with a compensation package worth tens of millions, and it is incumbent on the Qantas board and new CEO to change company culture.