Qantas' new CEO apologises for airline's recent scandals

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Vanessa Hudson.
Photo: AFP / Qantas

Qantas’ new CEO has issued a public apology for a series of scandals that have damaged the airline’s reputation, acknowledging it has been “hard to deal with” and promising to make changes to rebuild customer trust.

Vanessa Hudson took over the top job earlier this month after former CEO Alan Joyce stood down following 15 years as one of the country’s highest-paid executives.

In a video message released on Friday, Hudson apologised to customers for the airline’s recent performance.

“I know that we have let you down in many ways and for that, I am sorry,” she said.

“We haven’t delivered the way we should have. And we’ve often been hard to deal with.

“We understand why you’re frustrated and why some of you have lost trust in us.”

The airline’s leadership has been under pressure for weeks following a series of scandals.

Hudson outlines changes at Qantas

In her apology, Hudson vowed to fix issues at the airline and “get back to being the national carrier that all Australians can be proud of”.

“We understand we need to earn back your trust not with what we say, but with what we do and how we behave,” she said.

She said changes include adding more frequent flyer seats, putting more people in call centres to solve problems and a review of customer policies.

Hudson said frontline teams would be given more flexibility “to better help you when things don’t go to plan”.

She said “this has been a humbling period” for the airline.

Qantas hit by series of scandals

Last month the airline removed the expiry dates on A$570 million worth of Covid travel credits after a backlash from Australian and international customers and it was revealed the consumer watchdog the ACCC was investigating claims Qantas sold tickets for already-cancelled flights.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee on Wednesday ordered the airline and the Transport Workers’ Union to attend a month of mediation after the High Court unanimously rejected Qantas’ appeal of a ruling that the airline outsourced the jobs of its ground staff illegally.

Alan Joyce.
Photo: AFP / Peter Parks

As a result of the High Court ruling, about 1700 workers who were sacked could receive hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and penalties from their former employer.

The company’s annual report of profits released this week revealed former CEO Alan Joyce was paid $A21.4m in the last financial year.

But more than half of that could be withdrawn because the airline is withholding all short-term bonuses for senior executives amid the ACCC investigation.

The company recorded an annual profit of A$1.7b in the last financial year.

Qantas chairman Richard Godyer yesterday conceded big mistakes had been made but refused to quit.

“Shareholders are very supportive of the work we’re doing now,” he said.

“On the customer side of things, we know we’ve got some work to do. We know we’ve let people down.”

Qantas has also been caught up in a decision by Transport Minister Catherine King to block Qatar Airways’ bid for extra flights to Australia, leading to accusations Qantas had too much power in Canberra.

– This article was originally published by ABC News