By Praveen Menon
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s flagship carrier, Qantas Airways Ltd, said on Tuesday that long-serving CEO Alan Joyce would step aside in November, and named Vanessa Hudson as its next chief executive officer.
Below is a timeline of key events in Joyce’s 15-year career as one of the longest-serving CEOs of a major Australian company.
* November 2008 – Irish-born Alan Joyce is appointed as Qantas chief executive.
* April 2009 – Joyce cuts 1,750 jobs, the first major cull under his leadership, as the airline feels the full impact of the global financial crisis.
* November 2010 – The airline temporarily grounds its Airbus A380 fleet after one of the planes was forced to land in Singapore with engine trouble. It was one of the most serious incidents for an airline with one of the industry’s best safety records.
* June 2011 – Joyce announces major restructuring plans, prompting the first industrial action by trade unions in 45 years, leading to an unprecedented grounding of its fleet.
* December 2013 – Qantas calls for government support after warning investors of losses amid a bruising market share battle against domestic rival Virgin Australia.
* August 2014 – The airline reports a shocking full-year loss of $2.8 billion — one of the biggest single-year losses in Australian corporate history — and unveils a “transformation plan” to get the operation back on track.
* October 2016 – Joyce orchestrates a turnaround and delivers record profits and the first dividend to shareholders since 2009.
* May 2019 – Joyce renews his contract for a further three years.
* June 2020 – After the coronavirus pandemic hits, Qantas axes 8,500 jobs, or nearly 30% of its pre-COVID workforce, grounds most of its aircraft and retires its remaining Boeing 747 fleet.
* May 2022 – Joyce announces a multi-billion dollar Airbus plane order and says Qantas would fly non-stop from Sydney to London starting in 2025 in the world’s longest direct commercial flight.
* August 2022 – Qantas offers vouchers, loyalty status extensions and lounge passes to frequent flyers to apologise for a rise in delays, cancellations, lost baggage and staffing issues since travel demand rebounded.
* February 2023 – The airline swings to a record first-half profit on a strong demand recovery and high ticket prices.
(Reporting by Praveen Menon; editing by Gerry Doyle)
