Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has seen his golden handshake slashed by a massive $9.26 million. Still, Joyce has still pocketed a hefty sum. His final package of salary and shares was worth about $23.6 at the time of his resignation. The airline announced the cut in an Australian Securities Exchange statement. Joyce stood down almost a year ago. He will still pocket about $14 million for the 2023 financial year. "The events that damaged Qantas and its reputation and caused considerable harm to relationships with customers, employees and other stakeholders were due to a number of factors," the airline said. "While there were no findings of deliberate wrongdoing, the review found that mistakes were made by the board and management." It refers to the illegal sacking of workers during the pandemic and the scandal of selling thousands of flights that the airline had already knowingly cancelled. For this, the airline was fined a total of $120 million Members of the Qantas board will also have short-term bonuses docked by one third. "In reaching these decisions, the board has considered the individual and collective accountability of members of the Group Management Committee,” it said. Qantas releases its full-year results later this month. 

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The new chief executive of Qantas has been ordered into mediation talks with union leaders to thrash out compensation for fired workers. CEO Vanessa Hudson and Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine will attend talks to agree compensation. It relates to 1,700 ground handling workers who were illegally fired by Qantas in order to outsource cheaper labour. It could cost the airline hundreds of millions of dollars. The airline finally lost the case last week in the High Court after several appeals. In 2021 the federal court deemed Qantas’s actions a violation of the Fair Work Act. Justice Michael Lee said he was hopeful Qantas and the TWU can ‘resolve their differences.’ Lee specifically asked the airline’s CEO to be present, despite objections by the airline. “I don’t want it to be attended to by a lawyer. I want the chief executive officer to be present,” the judge said.  

Qantas has yet another setback to contend with. The competition watchdog intends to block an extension of the joint coordination agreement between Qantas and China Eastern Airlines. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a draft decision to deny the tie-up. The two airlines are seeking to coordinate operations on Australia-China routes. "At this stage we are not satisfied that the likely harm to competition would be outweighed by any potential benefits," ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said. The ACCC is concerned there would be an ‘incentive to increase prices.’ The competition watchdog sees a likelihood of this on the Sydney to Shanghai flights. China Eastern is currently the only airline offering flights to Sydney from Shanghai. Qantas plans to restart Shanghai flights in late October. The ACCC says a factor in blocking it is because the airlines have not given assurances they plan to boost Australia-China flights as the joint coordination agreement request is only until March 2024. The two airlines first started collaborating in 2015. "Millions of customers have benefited from the coordination on flight schedules, loyalty programs and streamlined connections," Qantas said. "The flow-on benefits for tourism have also been significant."

Qantas could be in more trouble. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking legal action against the airline for allegedly  selling tickets for thousands of flights that were already cancelled. It relates to cancelled flights from May to July 2022. The ACCC alleges Qantas kept ticket sales open on its website for 8,000 flights for two weeks on average after they were cancelled. Qantas failed to inform customers immediately on thousands of flights that flights they were booked on had been cancelled. The ACCC said it conducted a detailed investigation. ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said: “Qantas’ conduct left customers with less time to make alternative arrangements and may have led to them paying higher prices.” “It continued to sell tickets to cancelled flights and not updated ticketholders.” The ACCC says it found tickets were sold for up to 47 days after a flight had been cancelled. The commission is seeking penalties, injunctions and costs. Qantas acknowledged service ‘fell well short’ of acceptable standards. The ACCC believes Qantas cancelled many flights for reasons ‘within their control.’ These were for ‘network optimisation, consumer demand and retention of slots.’

With the public backlash intensifying, Qantas will now remove the planned expiry date from all remaining flight credits. They were set to run out at the end of 2023. It comes after the airline admitted it was holding on to $100 million more in flight credits than it had previously said. Flight credits can now be refunded at any time. However, for customers wishing to use them to rebook flights, they must be redeemed by the end of the year because of a ‘system limitation.’ This makes Qantas' Covid credit policy one of the most flexible of any airline in the world," the airline said. "Some airlines have already expired their travel credits and many more run out completely at the end of this year." The airline has faced criticism and legal action due to its handling of flight credits . "We know the credit system was not as smooth as it should have been," CEO Alan Joyce told a Senate committee this week. "While we've improved it and extended the expiry date several times, people lost faith in the process.”

Under-fire outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has admitted the airline hasn’t disclosed the full value of unused flight credits. Alan Joyce was put on the spot during a Senate committee hearing in Melbourne and accused of ‘misleading the Australian public.’ Jetstar customers are owed $100 million in flight credits on top of the $370 million for cancelled Qantas flights. The airline has been taking heat due to record profits after receiving taxpayer bailouts. Qantas Group just posted a pre-tax profit of $2.5 billion. Joyce appeared at the committee with Jetstar CEO Steph Tully and corporate affairs chief Andrew McGinnes. The committee is questioning the high price of airfares and preferential treatment by the government for Qantas by blocking an application from Qatar Airways to increase flights. Qantas is also facing a lawsuit over its perceived delaying tactics in processing flight credits.

Qantas confirmed aircraft orders with Airbus and Boeing to complete its jet fleet renewal. It is buying a dozen Airbus A350s and 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The new jets will start arriving in 2027, Qantas said. They will go toward replacing Qantas’ older Airbus A330 planes. “The 787s offer enhanced efficiency, flexibility and passenger comfort to connect Australia and destinations around the world," said Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing Commercial. As a part of the deals, Qantas will get access to up to 500 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year. This could start from 2028. "SAF reduces lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80% and is a key part of Qantas’ emissions reduction plan," the airline said. It comes as Qantas just posted a record profit of $2.47 billion.

Aussie flag carrier Qantas plans to trial a new passenger boarding procedure. It will test a group boarding system. Passenger boarding slots will be given dependent on the seat location. "The new procedures aim to reduce the time customers spend lining up at the gate to board their flight," the airline said. It will be trailed on flights from Brisbane Airport and expanded to other routes over time. Premium ticket holders will continue to use their dedicated priority boarding lane. Qantas will take on board any customer and staff feedback and use it ‘to fine tune the process’ if needed.

Qantas says customers have one last chance to redeem Covid flight credits. Customers are still sitting on more than $400 million in unclaimed credits. Qantas urged customers to exchange their Covid flight credits or get a refund before they expire at the end of the year. The booking expiry date has already been extended three times. Overall, Qantas Group airlines issued about $2 billion worth of travel credits since the pandemic. “We know the credits system has been challenging because of putting millions of bookings in a holding pattern for up to three years,” chief customer officer Markus Svensson said. After heavy criticism, the airline made several changes to make it easier for customers to claim refunds and rebook. “If customers prefer a refund we’re putting additional processes in place to help with that.” Qantas has added a new Find My Credit function in the website to help speed up processing. The airline is also offering double Frequent Flyer points when customers use credits to rebook flights until July 31.

Australia’s competition regulator has issued a draft authorization to allow Qantas and Emirates to continue their joint coordination agreement. Regulator the ACCC says the pact won’t negatively impact competition overall. However, it did have concerns on the Sydney-Christchurch route where Air NZ is the only other competitor. "The proposed conduct would likely result in public benefits, including increased connectivity and convenience," ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said. "It will give greater choice of flight times and flexibility on routes where Qantas and Emirates overlap." Qantas and Emirates are seeking re-authorisation of a pact which was previously extended in 2018. The preliminary granting is pending a period of submissions in response until 12 July 2023. It will then make a final decision.  

Qantas plans to take the crown for the world’s longest flight in late 2025. It updated plans for its flagship Kangaroo route from Sydney to London. It hopes to launch nonstop London flights from Sydney in 2025 which will last 20 hours, covering 17,020 kilometres. It has been several years in the making under Qantas’ ‘Project Sunrise’ initiative. The ultra-long London flights will operate on Airbus A350-1000 jets, which Qantas describes as the 'ultimate long-range aircraft.’ It will carry 238 passengers with a four-class service. It will make the service pay with around 40% of seats in premium class. The current title holder for the world’s longest flight is Singapore Airline’s New York service.