Alan Joyce left Qantas two years ago. Now he’s defending his record

Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce has defended the airline’s cost-slashing strategy during the COVID crisis, while laying out the challenges for Australia’s aviation industry in a speech delivered on Thursday afternoon.

Acknowledging the “hard and painful decisions” made by Qantas management during the pandemic lockdowns, the outspoken former airline chief executive underscored the importance of “resilience” for the industry.

“Let’s not be naive. The next crisis is always just around the corner,” he said, pointing to fuel shocks, pandemics, terrorism, and financial meltdowns.

The address was Joyce’s first major public comments since leaving the airline after months of controversy in late 2023.

“It’s easy to forget now, but in 2020, global aviation didn’t just stumble. It collapsed,” Joyce said.

‘Qantas, at one point, was just 11 weeks away from running out of cash. That’s not a buffer; that’s staring into the abyss. But we didn’t fall.’

Alan Joyce

“The skies emptied. Airports became ghost towns,” with passenger demand falling by 96 per cent, he added.

“Qantas, at one point, was just 11 weeks away from running out of cash. That’s not a buffer; that’s staring into the abyss. But we didn’t fall. We made hard and painful decisions. Decisions such as the sale of assets, parking aircraft in deserts, reducing operations,” and “standing down staff.”

And the end of the pandemic didn’t mean skies were bright again for the nation’s airlines, the former airline boss warned in his speech.

The speech, given at the Australian Aviation Summit in Sydney, came before a court ruling on Monday over what penalty Qantas should pay for illegally outsourcing 1800 workers in 2020 under Joyce’s leadership.

In one of his most direct comments on his handling of industrial relations, Joyce said: “It’s well known that, during COVID, Qantas like many airlines also faced very challenging decisions about its workforce. I acknowledge that.”

Joyce ended his 15-year tenure as chief executive of Qantas two months early in September 2023, as recriminations mounted over his leadership.

Under his watch, Qantas took in record profits as airfares spiralled. The company also saw its reputation crumble among customers, politicians, and the media.

Qantas was fined $100 million in penalties by the ACCC for “misleading consumers by offering and selling tickets for flights it had already decided to cancel, and by failing to promptly tell existing ticket holders of its decision.”

‘Australia is fortunate to have the strong aviation industry it does today. But let’s not be naïve. The next crisis is always just around the corner.’

Alan Joyce

As COVID lockdowns stopped air travel, Qantas announced a plan to outsource its entire 1800-strong ground handling workforce.

The move was later found by the Federal Court to be illegal, and the airline was ordered to create a $120 million compensation fund. The union is seeking a further $121 million penalty, with the court handing down a decision on Monday.

In 2022, as state borders began to open after COVID lockdowns, Qantas held $1.4 billion in unused flight credits paid for by customers, with the airline stipulating they had to be used on a “new booking of equal or higher value”. Expiration dates on the vouchers – later lifted as public outrage grew – limited how the vouchers could be spent.

Joyce’s tenure at the helm of Qantas also drew an uncomfortable light onto the cosy relationship between the airline and the Labor government.

Qantas lobbied the Albanese government to prevent Qatar Airways from increasing services into Australia in 2023, even as the cost of flying for the public had skyrocketed.

Albanese came under pressure to explain the rationale for the government’s veto, dubbed a “sweetheart” deal, before eventually relenting and allowing Qatar’s greater access to Australia through a “wet-lease” arrangement with Qantas’ rival Virgin.

In 2023, former CFO Vanessa Hudson took over as CEO. She has embarked on a strategy of rebuilding trust in the Qantas brand.

Going green

Joyce, who has stayed away from the public eye since his exit from Qantas, encouraging speculation about his future in aviation, saying he “may one day play a role” in the sector’s transition to sustainable fuel.

In his speech, he laid out the challenge that aviation faces in adopting greener fuel standards, pointing to the industry commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Many carriers, including in Australia, have interim targets for 2030 which can be “achieved by capping emissions, increasing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) uptake, and improving operational efficiency,” he said. However, Australia is on track to miss these goals, according to Joyce, who drew a parallel between SAF and solar energy.

“Twenty years ago, solar energy was expensive and inefficient. Then governments introduced mandates and subsidies, which in turn created investor certainty... SAF can be the new solar – but only if we act as a nation.”

The uptake of SAF has been slow by the industry. The International Air Transport Association forecasts SAF will account for a mere 0.7 per cent of total jet fuel this year, up from 0.3 per cent in 2024, a sliver of the forecast 6 per cent rise in air passenger traffic expected this year.

US-based World Energy, one of the first companies to make commercial quantities of SAF, quietly closed a California-based refinery and has slowed the development of a second facility because a lack of industry commitment, Reuters has reported.

Joyce also discussed the future of artificial intelligence for aviation, bearing a special warning. Although AI tools have enabled ‘predictive maintenance’ to reduce airlines’ unscheduled repairs, the technology also brings new uncertainties.

“As [AI-powered] smart assistants manage more of the journey, airlines could fade into the background,” Joyce said. “If airlines don’t own the customer interface in the age of AI, someone else will, and we’ll become just the plumbing behind the platform.”

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