Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce retires ahead of schedule as legal action starts against the airline for selling and advertising flights it had already cancelled.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce has retired from the company around two months ahead of schedule the Australian airline has confirmed. 

Joyce said: “In the last few weeks, the focus on Qantas and events of the past make it clear to me that the company needs to move ahead with its renewal as a priority.

The best thing I can do under these circumstances is to bring forward my retirement and hand over to Vanessa and the new management team now, knowing they will do an excellent job.

There is a lot I am proud of over my 22 years at Qantas, including the past 15 years as CEO. There have been many ups and downs, and there is clearly much work still to be done, especially to make sure we always deliver for our customers. But I leave knowing that the company is fundamentally strong and has a bright future,” Mr Joyce said.

As a result, CEO Designate Vanessa Hudson has taken over the Group CEO role and takes on the mantle of Managing Director, ahead of a host of issues that could present problems for the group in the not-too-distant future. 

Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder said: “Alan has always had the best interests of Qantas front and centre. On behalf of the Board, we sincerely thank him for his leadership through some enormous challenges and for thinking well ahead on opportunities like ultra-long-haul travel.

As previously planned, shareholders will formally vote on the appointment of Vanessa Hudson as Managing Director at Qantas’ Annual General Meeting in November.

Some in the Australian aviation industry have indicated the thought that Joyce jumped early after the news broke that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission confirmed it was taking the airline to task after it was revealed that Qantas advertised and was selling tickets for more than 8,000 flights it had already cancelled in its system.  The ACCC is alleging Qantas was engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct in advertising the flights, scheduled between May and July 2022. 

The ACCC said Qantas had continued to sell flights that it had already cancelled on average of more than two weeks, and in some cases for up to 47 days. Equally disturbing is the revelation that Qantas did not notify existing ticketholders that their flights had been cancelled for an average of about 18 days, and in some cases for up to 48 days. 

 ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said: “The ACCC has conducted a detailed investigation into Qantas’ flight cancellation practices. As a result, we have commenced these proceedings alleging that Qantas continued selling tickets for thousands of cancelled flights, likely affecting the travel plans of tens of thousands of people”

“We allege that Qantas’ conduct in continuing to sell tickets to cancelled flights, and not updating ticketholders about cancelled flights, left customers with less time to make alternative arrangements and may have led to them paying higher prices to fly at a particular time not knowing that flight had already been cancelled.”

“There are vast distances between Australia’s major cities. Reliable air travel is essential for many consumers in Australia who are seeking to visit loved ones, take holidays, grow their businesses or connect with colleagues. Cancelled flights can result in significant financial, logistical and emotional impacts for consumers,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

Just a few of the examples of flights allegedly affected as reported ACCC:

Qantas flight QF93 was scheduled to depart from Melbourne to Los Angeles on 6 May 2022. On 28 April 2022, Qantas made the decision to cancel the flight. Despite this, Qantas did not remove the flight from sale until 2 May 2022, and did not inform existing ticketholders of the cancellation until 4 May 2022 (two days before the flight).

Qantas flight QF81 was scheduled to depart from Sydney to Singapore on 4 June 2022. On 8 February 2022, Qantas made the decision to cancel the flight. Despite this, Qantas did not remove the flight from sale until 27 March 2022, and did not inform existing ticketholders of the cancellation until 28 March 2022.

Qantas flight QF63 was scheduled to depart from Sydney to Johannesburg on 31 July 2022. On 8 February 2022, Qantas made the decision to cancel the flight. Despite this, Qantas did not remove the flight from sale until 27 March 2022, and did not inform existing ticketholders of the cancellation until 28 March 2022.

Qantas flight QF486 was scheduled to depart from Melbourne to Sydney on 1 May 2022. On 18 February 2022, Qantas made the decision to cancel the flight. Despite this, Qantas did not remove the flight from sale until 15 March 2022, and did not inform existing ticketholders of the cancellation until 16 March 2022.

Qantas flight QF1785 was scheduled to depart from Gold Coast to Sydney on 1 May 2022. On 17 February 2022, Qantas made the decision to cancel the flight. Despite this, Qantas did not remove the flight from sale until 15 March 2022, and did not inform existing ticketholders of the cancellation until 16 March 2022.

The ACCC has investigated various aspects of Qantas’ conduct over the past three years. It has been engaging with Qantas directly on aspects of its customer service in an effort to get quick and equitable outcomes for consumers, however, the ACCC considers that Qantas needs to do more.

The ACCC continues to receive more complaints about Qantas than about any other business. Last year alone the ACCC received more than 1,300 complaints about Qantas cancellations, accounting for half of all complaints about Qantas reported to the ACCC.

Qantas said it takes these allegations by the ACCC seriously, but instantly tried to belittle the accusations by the ACCC by saying 'the period examined by the ACCC between May and July 2022 was a time of unprecedented upheaval for the entire airline industry'  Qantas also blamed it on COVID, saying it had struggled to restart following the pandemic "We openly acknowledge that our service standards fell well short and we sincerely apologise. We have worked hard to fix them since and that work continues."

"We will examine the details of the ACCC’s allegations and respond to them in full in court." the carrier said.