THE SQUIZ

After revealing a record profit of $2.47 billion last week, the flack has come thick and fast for the national carrier. Qantas boss Alan Joyce and executives have spent most of this week copping heavy criticism over lingering issues from their pandemic-era financial decisions and policies. And yesterday, it turned into legal action with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) taking the airline on over advertising and selling tickets for more than 8,000 flights in mid-2022 that had already been cancelled. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said Qantas’s conduct saw many customers “paying higher prices to fly at a particular time not knowing that flight had already been cancelled”. And that’s super annoying for the customer because Qantas held onto that money as a credit to be used for alternative/future flights.

WHAT OTHER STUFF’S BEEN GOING DOWN?

Well, a fortnight ago, Qantas was hit with a class action for holding “over $1 billion” in flight credits from flights cancelled in 2020, which lawyers have described as “interest-free loans”. Then, on Monday, outgoing CEO Alan Joyce fronted a Senate Committee hearing and was grilled on airfares and its profit after receiving support worth around $2.7 billion when pandemic restrictions kept the airline’s fleet grounded. On Tuesday, rival airline Virgin Australia and travel company Flight Centre said the Albanese Government’s decision last month not to allow Qatar Airways to bring more flights into Oz could lead to higher airfares for Aussies. Critics say the decision protects Qantas profits, but Joyce reckons “Australia should protect its own national interest”.

SO WHERE TO FROM HERE?

Change is in the air… Yesterday, Qantas made moves to smooth things over, with Joyce announcing that the company would scrap the expiry dates for all of its $570 million worth of customer credits for Qantas/Jetstar customers. “If you have a Qantas COVID credit, you can request a cash refund at any point in the future. And if you have a Jetstar COVID voucher, you can use it for travel indefinitely,” Joyce said. That means that issue – and many others – will be Vanessa Hudson’s problem when he passes the Qantas leadership baton in November. Joyce announced his departure earlier this year and will head off with a $24 million platinum handshake – and some commentators reckon Hudson’s got some work to do to restore trust. The pressure will be sky-high…