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18 September, 2023

Industry body calls on Qantas chairman to resign amid reputational thrashing

By Zach Havard

Qantas’ chairman, Richard Goyder is under pressure to hold his position after an industry body called for his dismissal over the board’s decision to engage a Boston-based consulting group to repair the national carriers’ public image.

A letter sent to Goyder by the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) on September 13 says the engagement of the consultant proves the directors don’t understand the mistakes of recent months and years which have left the airline’s reputation in the gutter.

The letter, which was also sent to new CEO, Vanessa Hudson raises concerns about the use of Boston Consulting Company (BCG) which Qantas has engaged in the past.

“To repeat this mistake says to us that the new CEO will seek advice of the same kind that put Qantas into the reputational hole they currently occupy,” the ALAEA letter reads.

“Engaging BCG says the Board neither hear, nor understand the problem.

“The situation is so bad that Qantas employees are being abused on the street simply for wearing the uniform.

“If Qantas is determined to fix problems and deliver consistency, you cannot engage BCG or other similar consultants.

“These bean counters are the problem.

“Instead, you need to talk to staff.”

The letter concludes, “If Qantas engages Boston Consulting Group, we call on you to resign your position as Qantas Chairman without delay,” and is signed by Steve Purvinas, ALAEA’s federal secretary.

ALAEA’s letter sent to Qantas. (Supplied)

The Australian reported that a Qantas spokesperson declined to comment on the letter.

Qantas is in the middle of what is quite possibly the biggest fall from grace in the carrier’s history.

The Flying Kangaroo’s patriarch, Alan Joyce, parted ways with the business after 22 years, months ahead of schedule in what Joyce claimed was the, “best thing I can do under these circumstances.”

The ‘circumstances’ Joyce was referencing include the groups grilling in front of a senate inquiry into the cost of living, which uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars it was holding in flight credits that would have been claimed by Qantas at the end of the year.

It has now scraped the controversial expiry date.

Qantas is said to have played a role in the shady decision to block new Qatar routes into Australia and just last week lost its high court appeal over the illegal sacking of nearly 1700 workers during the pandemic.

Perhaps time will be the only cure for Qantas and its reputation in the minds of the Australian public, but for now, there seems to be no let up in the pressure surrounding the longstanding giant of Australian aviation.

(Featured image: Richard Goyder, Qantas Chairman, headshot. Source – Westfarmers).

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alan joyce Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association qantas Richard Goyder