Insane $2million perk Alan Joyce will still get to enjoy over the next 20 years despite ‘damaging’ Qantas’ reputation

Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce will enjoy $100,000 worth of free business class travel every year for the next two decades as part of his generous executive perks.

Mr Joyce and his husband Shane Lloyd will be allowed to take four long-haul and twelve shorter trips without charge each year until 2046.

The total value of such a package is estimated at $2million per person – with a return flight to Mr Joyce’s native Dublin alone worth $20,000. 

The perks are given to all retired Qantas executives and their nominated beneficiaries, allowing them to fly free for as many years after leaving as they had worked for the airline.

Mr Joyce has been with Qantas for 23 years – joining in 2000 and resigning in 2023 – meaning he will be flying free until he turns 80-years-old.

The generous package – which is ultimately paid for by Qantas customers – offsets the stripping of $9.26million from Mr Joyce’s remuneration package in August.

Qantas announced it would reduce his remuneration from the initial amount of $11.919million in 2022-23 after a review blamed him for damaging the airline’s reputation.

Having led Qantas as chief executive for 15 years, Mr Joyce stepped down amid intense criticism over cancelled flights, lost luggage, and accusations of exploiting customers with exorbitant prices. 

Proxy advisory firm Ownership Matters said airline executives retain access to the free flights once they leave.

Qantas board members are slightly worse off than Mr Joyce, as they receive three long-haul and nine short-haul flights each year, according to the advisory group. 

Former head of Qantas’ loyalty program Olivia Wirth has also been granted access to the perk for the next 14 years after leaving the airline in February.

She was first hired at the national airline in July 2009 as the head of corporate affairs and government relations before joining Myer as a non-executive director.

Ms Wirth’s resignation also came with a ‘good leaver’ pro-rated bonus of $579,000 in cash and shares, her unvested long-term incentive allocations pro-rata and a severance payment of $479,000.

Qantas representatives told Ownership Matters that Ms Wirth’s good leaver bonus ‘reflected the fact Myer was not a competitor’ and ensured a good handover.

Mr Joyce and Ms Wirth retained their free flights despite Qantas reducing its ‘travel benefits’ over the past financial year. 

‘The disclosed financial year 2024 cost of travel benefits was $374,000 (down from 2023’s $435,000) and $124,000 was accrued for post-employment travel (from $100,000 in 2023),’ the firm told the Australian Financial Review.

Qantas has spent the past year since Mr Joyce’s resignation trying to revive the airline’s damaged reputation among customers. 

Mr Joyce will be allowed to fly first class for free until 2046 after shareholders agreed to extend the perk for every year he was with the airline (pictured, Mr Joyce at Sydney Airport)

Changes to remuneration packages for executives include making brand reputation  a performance measure.

‘Qantas has made significant progress over the past 12 months, but we know there’s a lot more to do to restore trust with our customers,’ Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said in a statement.

‘We’ve seen strong improvement in on-time performance, customer satisfaction and reputation for both Qantas and Jetstar, and the group is performing strong financially.

‘It’s this financial strength that means we’re able to continue investing in new aircraft, improving the experience for our customers and our people.

‘The board has listened to feedback on the pay structure for our executives and have made a series of changes which we are confident will encourage better outcomes for our stakeholders.’

Revelations of Mr Joyce’s free travel come after the ex-Qantas chief was seen waiting for his luggage at the carousel at Sydney Airport early on Monday morning, having arrived from an overseas trip.

Clearly there was no cheating on cabin baggage for the old boss, who had to wait at the carousel along with all the other bleary-eyed overnight passengers.