Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce can claim up to $2m in free first-class flights under a generous scheme given to former executives. Mr Joyce and a nominated beneficiary will be allowed to take four long-haul and 12 shorter domestic trips without being charged each year, with an estimated value of $100,000 per year. In total, the former chief executive will receive up to $2m in benefits until 2046.
As part of this he will be eligible for flights to his native Dublin, the cost of which is upwards of $9000 for one first-class return trip from Sydney. The perks are given to all retired Qantas executives and their nominated beneficiaries, allowing them to fly for free for as many years as they have been working for the airline. In Mr Joyce’s case, he will fly free with the airline until he is 80.
The perk will help offset some of the losses Mr Joyce suffered when he left the airline. Qantas’ 2024 financial remuneration report published on the ASX in September showed Mr Joyce departed the airline with more than $18m in base pay and bonuses, even after $9m was stripped from his entitlements in 2023. Under the same scheme, former head of Qantas’ loyalty program Olivia Wirth has also been granted access to the perk, having spent 14 years with the airline before leaving earlier this year.
Mr Joyce was with Qantas for 23 years after joining the airline in 2000 before being forced to resign in 2023. In a statement to NewsCorp, Qantas confirmed Mr Joyce’s generous benefits, although.