Alan Joyce 'in tears' over 'tough calls' that helped Qantas survive
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says he's not going anywhere despite the ongoing public relations battering the national airline has taken in recent months.
Announcing a billion-dollar loss for the carrier yesterday, Joyce flagged fare increases of up to 20 per cent for international flights and 10 per cent for local flights.
The higher costs are meant to offset increased fuel prices.
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Qantas has announced fare hikes due to the high cost of fuel. 9News
Joyce told ben Fordham on 2GB he, and the airline, would have to be judged on future performances.
"This is the most difficult period for the aviation industry," he said.
"The restart hasn't been as smooth as we hoped for. We should be doing better, and we will be doing better."
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Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline did what it had to in order to survive. AFR/Louie Douvis
Questioned over how much he had earned while laying off workers during the pandemic, Joyce said the cuts had reached even the highest levels, with 30 per cent of people in head office turfed out.
"We had to make some really tough decisions to survive," he said.
"Friends that I'd had for 20 years, I had them in my office, and I was in tears, making them redundant."
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He said his own salary was tied to Qantas' performance, meaning he'd taken home no hefty bonuses as the airline struggled to stay solvent.
And Joyce said Qantas would be handing out $200 million worth of bonuses to all employees if the company was able to "turn around".
He said that was the job he was committed to, and he aimed to stay on as CEO until at least the end of next year.
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