Two words from Alan Joyce prove just how close he is with Anthony Albanese – despite the Prime Minister trying to play down their relationship

Anthony Albanese has tried to claim his relationship with Alan Joyce was a strictly professional one between a Prime Minister and a corporate titan, as he battles claims the Qantas boss was his ‘personal travel agent’ for free flights and upgrades.

However that characterization of the relationship was at odds with that made by Mr Joyce, who said he was ‘good mates’ with Mr Albanese and had been ‘for years’.

In the wake of the explosive claims that the Prime Minister had Mr Joyce arrange free tickets and upgrades, Mr Albanese distanced himself from the Qantas chief.

When asked about about their relationship on Sunday Mr Albanese implied it was purely in a professional capacity, having been Transport Minister and shadow transport spokesperson before becoming Prime Minister. 

‘He (Joyce) was the CEO of the national airline … I had the same relationship with him that I have with John Borghetti as the CEO of Virgin,’ Mr Albanese said.

That assessment was at odds with the many photos showing Mr Albanese and Mr Joyce apparently greatly enjoying each other’s company. 

Mr Albanese and Mr Joyce were pictured in high spirits on the red carpet at the Qantas 100th Gala Dinner in March last year.

In photos from the event, Mr Joyce proudly walks the red carpet with one arm around the prime minister and the other around Mr Albanese’s partner, Jodie Haydon.

Just five months later, in August, a smiling Mr Albanese attended Qantas’s unveiling of it’s special ‘Yes 23’ emblazoned airplanes for the Voice referendum.

Mr Joyce was seen touching Mr Albanese’s arm, with the PM bursting into laughter.

Even when Scott Morrison was PM,  Mr Joyce enjoyed an apparently close relationship with Mr Albanese as the pair stood close together at the launch of the Qantas’ landmark Perth to London flight in March, 2018. 

During a Senate hearing in September 2023, Mr Joyce said he had been ‘friends for years’ with Mr Albanese.

Asked about why he gifted Mr Albanese’s son Nathan a membership to the prestigious and exclusive Chairman’s Lounge Mr Joyce refused to confirm or deny but talked up his relationship with the Prime Minister.

‘I’ve been good mates with Albo for some time,’ Mr Joyce said. 

However, the then Qantas CEO refused to say whether he lobbied the Prime Minister on the controversial decision to lock competitor Qatar Airways out of domestic routes.

It has since emerged in a new book about Qantas, The Chairman’s Lounge, by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston that Ms Haydon is also a Chairman’s Lounge member. 

Mr Albanese and Mr Joyce also appeared to greatly enjoying each other’s company at  a Qantas event in August last year

Reports have emerged in a new book Mr Albanese received 22 upgrades from economy from Qantas and he would liaise personally with the former airline boss for them. 

Aston also alleged Mr Albanese directly contacted Mr Joyce while in his various parliamentary jobs to ask for special upgrades for himself or his family.

According to unnamed Qantas ‘insiders’ 11 of the 22 flights Mr Albanese received upgrades for were ‘privately funded’ and included overseas trips to Rome, London, Los Angeles and Honolulu, with some being for holidays.

Mr Albanese insisted on Tuesday that the London flights was for work purposes and all were ‘declared in the appropriate way’.    

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has leapt on the accusations describing Mr Albanese as being the ‘best friend’ of Mr Joyce. 

Mr Dutton told Sky News on Monday night it was ‘strange’ Mr Albanese had directly contacted Mr Joyce to request upgrades while holding a regulatory position in the transport sector.

‘If you’re the Transport Minister and you’re picking up the phone to one of the most important stakeholders in the portfolio asking for a free upgrade, then again, I think the Prime Minister would be able to answer those questions more effectively than anyone else because I’m not aware of anyone else having done it,’ Mr Dutton said.

It has since emerged that Ms Haydon also has membership of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge

The Prime Minister denied frequently asking Mr Joyce for upgrades on Tuesday at press conference in the NSW city of Newcastle.

‘The only discussions that I can recall with Alan Joyce certainly were not discussed through calls – we discussed the first flight from Australia to Dubai on the A380,’ he said.

‘I’ve declared everything in accordance with all of the rules.’

Aston was asked on Monday night by ABC interviewer Sarah Ferguson about how confident he was that Mr Albanese had made calls personally to Mr Joyce for upgrades.

‘I am very comfortable with my sourcing,’ Aston said.

Asked whether he thought Mr Albanese had been influenced by Mr Joyce’s lobbying to block UAE airline Qatar domestically Aston said it was ‘implausible’ to think that the Prime Minister’s office had nothing to do with the decision.

Mr Albanese’s son Nathan, 24, has reportedly also been granted access to the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge (pictured, Mr Albanese and son Nathan in May, 2022)

‘It’s very hard to imagine a decision of any political sensitivity in the Albanese government that would not go through the Prime Minister’s office,’ Aston replied.

He noted the opening up of the Australian domestic market Qatar had seemingly been sailing through with Transport Minister Catherine King speaking warmly about the proposal until ‘everything changed’ to stop it dead in tracks. 

 Ms King repeatedly denied in parliament the decision to block Qatar was due to Qantas lobbying her or any Labor colleagues.

Despite Mr Albanese claiming he declared every upgrade received from Qantas the Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday that he failed to do for his former wife Carmel Tebbutt when the two traveled together.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has  questioned the alleged personal requests Mr Albanese made to Mr Joyce  while in his various parliamentary jobs

Even when Scott Morrison was prime minister, Mr Joyce appeared to have a close relationship with Mr Albanese (the pair are pictured at an event in 2019)

Sky New host Sharri Markson on Monday night labeled Mr Joyce as ‘basically Albanese’s personal travel agent.’

‘This is all a question of integrity. Most Australians struggle to afford even an economy airfare. They’d never be able to afford the luxury of business class. It’s out of our reach,’ she said.

‘Can Albanese truly be impartial when it comes to making decisions about Qantas when he’s been getting tens of thousands of dollars worth of free upgrades to business class? The revelations puts the decision he made as transport minister and prime minister under a cloud.

‘Aside from the integrity issues, this revelation is also politically lethal. Albanese took care to curate a self-image of a housing commission boy who made it. But now the perception is cementing of a long-term pollie enjoying the perks of public office.’

Another awkward paradox of Mr Albanese’s  apparent close relationship with Mr Joyce is that the Labor leader in a trade unionist advocate while Qantas attempted to break the power of the Transport Workers Union by sacking 1700 staff during Covid. 

The sacking has since been ruled illegal by Federal Court in a case brought by the union with Qantas facing possible hundreds of thousands in compensation payouts. 

The friendship however did find one perhaps unlikely defender in semi-retired 3AW radio star Neil Mitchell. 

‘Quick test: upgrade Albo is a bad look,’ Mitchell wrote on X.

‘But does anybody believe he was seriously compromised by having Alan Joyce as a bestie? Time to rewrite rules governing politicians.’