Alan Joyce to leave Qantas immediately

Email came through at work this morning and somewhat mixed emotions.
Yes he has made a lot of mistakes but from my side of things he has been outstanding for us and no real complaints on the business side of things.
His time was up though and in truth he probably stayed too long and tarnished his legacy in the end

Probably stayed too long and should have worked harder trying to sort out refunds and covid credits. The board was slack as Alan Joyce was probably the best option financially for Qantas.
 
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Such intense scrutiny. And doing so would probably preserve the much discussed bonuses. What an inheritance the in-coming receives.
 
Hey at least if she survives and brings QF out the other end, we know she can do the job. Otherwise, we'll see her also fall before getting QF through the tunnel.
 
Coming from a totally non QF lover who would never step a foot on their planes if avoidable but a very proud Australian who dearly wants to see our iconic airline prosper - I do hope VH is ‘match fit’ when she parks herself in the big chair - the last thing any of us would want to see is mistakes made in highest QF Mgmt positions 👍
 
AJ leaves with his reputation in tatters but his bonus intact.

Qantas meanwhile is on the nose with customers, politicians, the competition regulator and has got about 10 years of capex to catch up on. At least AJ's bank manager is happy.
 
AJ leaves with his reputation in tatters but his bonus intact.
I wonder about that. The Final Directors Interest notice to the ASX shows him holding almost 2mill share and interest in 3.1 mill more as an interest in rights under long term incentive plans ( 2021-25).

Whatever happens from now on presumably doesn’t need to be disclosed to the public ( ASX) .
 
Well he got snagged on the too long farewell tour


An example of this lane duck phenomenon might be

Trying to balance your exit timing with cashing up “superannuation” or shareholdings

The long gentle flow to the landing was disrupted by strong headwinds and old baggage busting open the cargo hold on the monopoly jalopy

As for them pesky pax After all I’ve done for you, highest J fares in the world. Gosh you too can fly Sydney to Perth return for the same price as most return business ticket prices to most anywhere else in the world
 
Don't forget the CEO works for the Board, the Board needs to take a lot more responsibility and they set the direction and policy. Big company boards like to sit up in the clouds out of sight washing their hands of problems.
 
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Don't for get the CEO works for the Board, the Board need to take a lot more responsibility and they set the direction and policy. Big company board like to sit up in the clouds out of sight washing this hands of problems.

Yes and airline boards in this country right now and in recent history are in a world of pain with Virgin Australia’s board staring down an enormous class action 😱
 
Breaking news: it turns out the past week has been the straw that broke the camel's back with Uncle Alan announcing a resignation from Qantas effective tomorrow:

From the article:
"In the last few weeks, the focus on Qantas and events of the past make it clear to me that the company needs to move ahead with its renewal as a priority," Mr Joyce said in a statement.

What is surprising about this resignation is it was not the illegal outsourcing of workers or the industrial action he took a decade ago locking out pilots that forced him out of the job but rather the illegal sale of tickets that did it in for him. This suggests that it is the consumer, not employees that decide the fate of the CEOs of the company.

I know some on this forum will say that technically he retired early and didn't resign. Whether Uncle Alan's contract had a retire ahead clause or not I'm not so sure. However, ask yourself this: would Qantas want Alan Joyce to hang around for the next couple of months with legal actions and investigations afoot in the organization? I would suspect the board gave him an ultimatum: either retire early or we fire you with no golden parachute.

I would be curious to hear what the community thinks caused Alan Joyce to resign so unexpectedly. Was it the ACCC investigation? If Alan Joyce is no longer the CEO of Qantas, will he have to testify in the forthcoming legal action against Qantas? It would seem to me that if I courted a lot of controversy and wanted to avoid the consequences for it, I would resign whilst the going is good, certainly if I have a compensation package to protect from board members and the meddling public. Was it fair for Alan Joyce to resign so unexpectedly, foisting all this controversy on the newly appointed CEO before they had a chance to build an image for themselves and come to terms with what's happening to the company?
 
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The biggest trouble with the airline industry is it’s expensive kit

Boeing
Airbus
That’s billions of dollars of capital necessary to fly around the world

In time AJ will be remembered as a disruptive figure who managed to keep this 100 year old airline afloat but will suffer the enduring effect should the airlines kit become ancient and overpriced.

Lessons x from Ansett, Virgin Mark 1, even Compass have not been learnt and while difficult decisions like closing down the airline were made that were detrimental to staff wages and collateral damage to the flying public I did get refunds and a free return trip anywhere in Australia

The consequence of the Dreamliner 787 are longer distances and higher prices (same malady as landlords who bought at market highs needing to cover costs or for that matter the energy argument coal fired 50 year old power stations sunk costs like the 747 jets just made it cheaper than buying new planes)
Even that story was a spin as JQ had run them for awhile before QF Began Perth-London

15 years as CEO is a long time (sounds like a few of our cricketers)

That ultimately became the problem
Term limits is not really a thing in Australia aside judges must quit at 70 but everyone needs to understand their purpose

There’s good reason to quit a job after 8-10 years and move on
Renewal of the organisation
refresh yourself, take on new challenges
Besides if you haven’t effected real change in 8 years you’re unlikely to in 15.
Some of my last work before I left 6 years ago has only had impact after I left while for the most it was good while it lasted - a new broom is going to sweep away the pet projects and vestiges of the earlier incumbents
 
It will take a lot to fix the damage. A new board of directors needs to be put in place at the next AGM in Melbourne in November.
Nominations needed now so don't hold back.....
Shareholders of Qantas, I call on you to elect me, KangarooFlyer88 as director of the board at Qantas. For this I will ensure members of the site will be guested into the Chairperson's Lounge when I'm flying. In addition, I'll share with you the super secret number for the Hobart contact centre. All your troubles with Qantas will be erased should you make the right decision of nominating me to chairperson of the board at Qantas.

KangarooFlyer88 2023 - Rort You can believe in!
 

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