Qantas reforms: Fiscal reckoning under reputational crisis

To regain investors' confidence and to mend its bruised reputation, Australia's Qantas Airlines is slashing the fiscal 2023 pay of ex-CEO Alan Joyce by a record amount. According to the annual report, Mr Joyce, who retired in September 2023, took home A$21.4 million in the 2023 financial year. The airline said on Thursday that the compensation will be reduced by A$9.26 million ($6.03 million).

Further, Qantas is reducing short-term incentives for current and former senior executives by a third. This comes in the wake of a governance review that observed no case of intentional wrongdoing but found significant mistakes made by the board, resulting in huge reputational damage and customer service issues.

"The events that damaged Qantas and its reputation and caused considerable harm to relationships with customers, employees, and other stakeholders were due to a number of factors," the company said. The move has pitted Qantas in a series of legal and regulatory challenges as more discontented investors called for restructuring in management.

Qantas agreed to an A$120 million settlement with regulators back in May over the sale of tickets for flights that had previously been cancelled in an attempt to quash the reputational crisis. This was a step into mollifying the growing discontent among stakeholders and seeking to salvage the reputation of this airline.

The new measures by Qantas are quite strong in terms of correcting the mistakes made in the past and seeking to regain its status from investors and customers alike. Having held its management accountable for these wrongs and finding solutions to the central problems that saw it lose its glory, Qantas is on the way to redeeming its sterling reputation.