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7 November, 2022

Qantas AGM: Lounge upgrades, IT investments and a whopping bonus for Joyce

By Alexandra Coulton

Qantas shareholders have voted in favour of the airline’s heavily criticised executive pay package, including a multi-million dollar bonus for its CEO Alan Joyce.

More than 90 per cent of investors voted in favour of the packages at the airline’s AGM on Friday, despite widespread calls from investment advisors and unions to vote against them.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) is calling not only for Joyce to be denied his performance bonuses but also for the embattled CEO to resign.

The union has claimed Qantas “swindled” shareholders out of a genuine vote over Joyce’s pay package while the airline’s reputation remains in “tatters” and nearly 2000 illegally sacked workers await compensation.

“Under Joyce, Qantas management has always focused on its shareholders at the expense of its workers and customers at great detriment to the airline, but now even shareholders are being swindled by the Qantas dictatorship,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.

Last week Qantas received a Shonky Award from consumer advocacy group Choice, which claimed the airline had downgraded itself to the level of a budget carrier.

“They had the worst rates for flight delays, and their baggage handling has really been poor in the last year. People are still paying premium prices, but not getting premium service,” said Choice money and travel expert Jodi Bird.

However, Qantas has since disputed the group’s claims, releasing data that showed the national carrier’s operations have improved every month since July to be around, or better, than pre-COVID levels.

Lounge upgrades, IT investments and “operational resilience”

Speaking at Qantas’ AGM, Joyce said the airline has switched its lounge investment program back on, starting with Auckland, Adelaide, Rockhampton and Port Hedland, hitting at more upgrades in the coming months.

“We know how important the lounge experience is to our premium customers and we’re working on several more projects that we’ll be announcing in the coming months,” he said.

The national carrier has also invested “heavily” in new tech, according to Joyce, with new kiosks across its network, new scanners and terminals for airport staff.

Another “heavy” investment for the airline has been its Frequent Flyer program, which has been a top performer for the airline.

Joyce said the airline will continue to invest in the program through a continued expansion into financial services, hotel bookings and the integration of the TripADeal online holiday package business.

He also addressed the airline’s poor performance and said Qantas has invested more than $200 million this financial year on “operational resilience”.

“We’re also prepared for a potential spike in sick leave if there is another wave of COVID, as we saw last summer. We’re rostering more crew so we can cope better with sick leave,” he said.

“And we’ll have up to 20 aircraft on the ground over the summer peak to help minimise delays that we’re seeing through supply chain issues.”

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agm alan joyce Lounge upgrades Michael Kaine qantas shareholders Transport Workers Union