Qantas Airways announced on Tuesday (Sep the 5th) that CEO Alan Joyce will be stepping down from his position two months earlier than planned.

This decision comes as the airline faces a wave of reputational challenges. Vanessa Hudson, who is set to become the first female leader of the century-old airline, will assume the role of CEO on Wednesday.

The early departure comes after Qantas apologized on Monday for falling short of service standards and acknowledged that its reputation was suffering.

This apology comes less than two weeks after the airline reported record annual earnings, driven by strong travel demand.
Last week, Australia's competition regulator sued Qantas for allegedly selling tickets for over 8,000 flights that had been canceled between May and July 2022, without disclosing the cancellations.

“In the last few weeks, the focus on Qantas and events of the past make it clear to me that the company needs to move ahead with its renewal as a priority,” said Joyce, who served as the airline’s CEO for 15 years.

Leadership changes were announced in June to aid the airline's post-pandemic recovery. CFO Rob Marcolina will also start early with Hudson.

 

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