Is this a ‘spirit’ we are prepared to accept with ‘Australia’ in the company name?
Despite this, Alan Joyce, QANTAS CEO, is still critical of Government support, and apologising that the so called “Spirit of Australia” airline is not as quick in catching up to profitability as other international airlines because it did not receive as much government support as other airlines, such as those out of Singapore.
You have also to factor in to this scenario, that QANTAS was only just emerging out of a post-tax loss period in 2020, so obviously, the Board was pretty keen to see the green!
Adding to all this, the airline’s CEO, Alan Joyce, even in the midst of the pandemic – when the airline was effectively shut down, still made $4.2 million in 2021 and 2022.
And when Qantas made a $2.8 billion loss in 2014, Mr Joyce managed to earn $50 million in salary and shares in the three years that followed, reported the Australian Financial Review.
Qantas said it restored Mr Joyce’s base salary to 2019 levels because he took no pay for three months in 2020 and for one month in 2021, in addition to three months on reduced pay in 2021. In addition to his $2.17 million base pay, Mr Joyce was given 698,000 share rights that depend on Qantas turning to a profit by August 2023. For most of us this has to be tough to read.
It is hard to accept that anyone with a 7 figure salary, no matter how “nice” or clever a guy he may be, can in any way shape or form, perceive how all of this looks to the average punter who is forgoing daily coffees in order to have extra dollars in the budget for food, fuel and utilities.
In a lighter vein though, this company and its CEO have earned one of our nation’s higher awards from our national consumer advocate, Choice and its ‘Shonky Awards’, for its controversial flight credits scheme, months of lost luggage, long call wait times and cancelled flights.
Overall, this has a deplorable public face and deserves further scrutiny!
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I have quite often looked at the figure that Alan Joyce receives. It’s totally deplorable that amount of money. I am sure he has worked in the banking sector where it’s a rip off to the consumer too.