Qantas boss Alan Joyce’s pay plunged 77 per cent to $2.27 million last financial year after executive bonuses were canned on the back of massive COVID disruptions over the past two years. 

Mr Joyce took home $9.99 million in FY19 boosted by performance bonuses as Qantas’s stock soared to all-time highs of $7.34 up from $1.57 when he took charge in 2009.

Overall Qantas executive take-home pay in FY22 was 64 per cent lower than pre-COVID levels according to the airline’s Annual Report issued today.

The airline’s executives also received no bonuses for the third year running.

Going forward executive pay will hinge more on a larger weighting for customer satisfaction and the introduction of an environmental measure for the first time.

Senior executives will be eligible for a retention bonus linked to achieving the Group’s COVID recovery plan by the end of FY23.

Qantas chairman, Richard Goyder said that “this annual report hopefully represents the last chapter of the terrible impact that the COVID crisis had on Qantas.

“It’s been tough for our shareholders, customers and especially on our people. But we’ve made it through and it’s great to see so many people flying again.

“The restart has been bumpy, which reflects how difficult it is to bring an airline out of hibernation at the same time as dealing with record rates of COVID in the community

“We sincerely apologise to our customers, who’ve been so patient as we get back to the service standards people rightly expect from us. Our latest performance figures show we’re well on track and our annual data shows safety standards remained high throughout.

“Our people have worked incredibly hard through the recovery, including during the well-publicised challenges of recent months. We’ve set aside almost $200 million to share the benefits of the return to profit across the Group with them.”

On the hot topic of executive pay Mr Goyder stressed that it had “been constrained throughout the pandemic, with a wage freeze and no annual bonuses for the third year in a row. The retention bonus in place for next year is key to keeping the considerable talent we have and it depends on delivering the recovery in full.

“Managing an airline through a pandemic is incredibly difficult and few have emerged with the underlying strength that Qantas has. That’s an absolute credit to Alan Joyce and his team, though the full impact of what’s been achieved will be best judged a few years from now when new aircraft are arriving, new routes are opening up and lots of opportunities for our people.”

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