Angry Qantas investors block executives' pay plan

Angry Qantas investors block executives' pay plan

Qantas enjoyed a record profit last year but it also enraged once-loyal Australians through astronomical ticket prices and allegedly selling seats for already cancelled flights
Qantas enjoyed a record profit last year but it also enraged once-loyal Australians through astronomical ticket prices and allegedly selling seats for already cancelled flights. Photo: DAVID GRAY / AFP
Source: AFP

Jeering Qantas shareholders voted down a pay package for the company's top brass Friday, as the outgoing chairman apologised for a public "loss of trust" in Australia's much-loved carrier.

At a fractious annual meeting in Melbourne, 83 percent of shareholders voted against a package that would have gifted key executives millions of dollars in bonuses.

The 102-year-old airline enjoyed a record profit last year.

But it also enraged once-loyal Australians through astronomical ticket prices and allegedly selling seats for 8,000 already cancelled flights.

This came after taking a multi-billion-dollar taxpayer bailout during the pandemic.

Chairman Richard Goyder, who is slated to retire next year, said the board had heard the "strong" message sent by shareholders.

Read also

Former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all counts at fraud trial

"There are things we got wrong, things we should have handled better" Goyder admitted, "things we should have fixed faster, and for that we apologise."

Qantas was long seen as the "spirit of Australia" -- the island nation's link to the rest of the world.

Although not state-run, it is seen as an integral part of the economy and vital to cohesion in a country where major cities are hundreds of kilometres (miles) apart.

So far, Qantas' attempts to salvage its reputation have fallen flat.

It has defended selling seats on cancelled flights, arguing that rather than buying tickets for specific flights, customers buy a "bundle of rights" and a promise that the airline will "do its best to get consumers where they want to be on time".

In September Australia's High Court ruled Qantas illegally sacked 1,700 ground staff during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Despite vowing to "restore confidence" Goyder faced angry heckles from shareholders as he tried to shut down complaints from one angry investor.

The Qantas chairman asked for the man's microphone to be cut off, prompting boos, jeers and cries of "shame on you" from other shareholders in the room.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.