Qantas suffers double profit drop after Alan Joyce’s pay package is cut

Qantas has suffered a double-digit profit drop after cutting former CEO Alan Joyce’s pay package by $9 million.

The national airline has reported a 28 percent decline in statutory net profit after tax to $1.25 billion for 2023-24 under the leadership of new CEO Vanessa Hudson.

Ms Hudson used her first presentation of the results to distance herself from her controversial predecessor, Mr Joyce, who was responsible when customers were sold tickets for cancelled flights.

“Restoring confidence and pride in Qantas as our national airline is our priority. And while there is still much work to be done, we will achieve this by delivering consistent service to our customers and people well into the future,” she said.

Qantas told shareholders that profits fell in the last financial year due to lower fares, increased spending on customer loyalty programs, increased competition on international flights and lower freight revenues.

Ms Hudson, who replaced Mr Joyce in September last year, was CEO when her airline struck a deal with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in May to pay $120 million in fines for selling tickets for cancelled flights to 87,000 customers.

Earlier this month, Qantas announced it would cut Mr Joyce’s pay by $9.26 million, primarily by scrapping long-term incentives.

Before he was stripped of these long-term incentives, the former CEO was paid $11.919 million in total compensation in 2022-23, including a base salary of $2.145 million.

Qantas told shareholders profits fell due to lower fares, increased spending on customer loyalty programs and lower freight revenues

The national airline under new CEO Vanessa Hudson has reported a 28 percent drop in statutory net profit after tax to $1.25 billion for 2023-24

In an effort to win employee favor, Qantas has fired 23,000 non-managerial employees A $500 travel voucher for staff, which can be used towards the already heavily discounted standby rates.

This was in addition to the $500 voucher given to employees in February, bringing the total for the year to $1,000.

“This year we have focused on finding the right balance between delivering for customers, employees and shareholders and building a better, stronger Qantas Group,” Hudson said.

“I would like to thank all of our people for their professionalism, hard work and dedication to serving our customers.”

Ms Hudson was confident Australians would be more likely to travel in the coming year despite the cost of living crisis.

“These investments come at a time when Australians continue to prioritise travel over other spending categories, and intention to travel over the next 12 months remains high,” she said.

The Qantas Group, which also includes budget airline Jetstar, returned to pre-coronavirus international capacity in May 2024 after bringing back more aircraft, including two Airbus A380s.

But the extra flights also brought increased competition, leading to an 11 percent drop in revenue for the international flight division.

Earlier this month, Qantas announced it would cut Alan Joyce’s pay by $9.26 million, primarily by cutting long-term incentives