Qantas reveals next-generation economy cabin at 2024 AGM

A Qantas shareholder who had his microphone cut off at last year’s annual general meeting unleashed on the board when handed the microphone again this year.

“I feel the ghost of Alan Joyce in the room,” Chris Maxworthy said at the AGM in Hobart on Friday, accusing the board of being “missing in action” during a string of controversies under Mr Joyce’s leadership. The former CEO stepped down in September.

“We can’t gloss over this. There’s been brand damage to a level where people like me are almost cheering for Qatar to become a viable competitor for Qantas, and yet we all want to love Qantas.

“Qantas staff are not the problem. It was senior management and the board that were asleep at the wheel or allowed someone to use Qantas as their personal play thing.”

New Qantas chair John Mullen had earlier addressed the AGM, promising issues that caused reputational damage in the last year had been addressed and that it was “time now” to put this difficult period behind them.

He also thanked former chair Richard Goyder and Mr Joyce for their “great contributions” to the airline.

He told shareholders not to forget Mr Joyce “delivered many years of exceptional results”, and that the former CEO and chair had steered Qantas during Covid, saying “without their leadership, Qantas might well have not survived”.

In August, it was revealed Mr Joyce would have his bonuses slashed by more than $9 million. At the same time, the airline committed to implementing all 23 recommendations made in its review of key governance matters.

Mr Joyce’s bonuses were withheld amid mounting pressure from investors over the illegal sacking of 1700 workers, the selling of tickets on already cancelled flights and allegations of anti-competitive behaviour.

Earlier this week, Qantas was ordered to pay $170,000 to three of the 1700 workers who were illegally fired during the pandemic.

Qantas will also pay about $20 million in compensation to customers affected by its flight cancellation policy, after admitting it had misled passengers. This is in addition to a $100 million civil penalty.

Mr Maxworthy argued on Friday that Mr Joyce only deserved base salary.

In response, Mr Mullen told shareholders the board “took what we thought was the most severe measure we could at the time” by slashing Mr Joyce’s remuneration by $9 million.

He said he believed it was the largest done so in Australian corporate history

Mr Mullen also claimed there had been more dramatic change to Qantas’ leadership “than would have occurred in any other public company in recent time” – including a new chair, CEO, management team and refreshing of the board.

“I don’t think anyone is shying away from the issues that happened in the past but I do think it is appropriate that at some stage we draw a line under this thing and move on, otherwise we’ll spend the rest of the time looking back other than forwards,” Mr Mullen said.

When Mr Goyder had ordered Mr Maxworthy’s microphone to be “closed down” last year, audience members had shouted “shame on you”.

Mr Goyder and Ms Hudson had both opened the 2023 AGM with an apology about the loss of trust in the national carrier and promise to repair its reputation.

Qantas reveals next-generation economy cabin

Qantas revealed it is upgrading the economy cabin on its Airbus A330s with newly designed seats, bigger entertainment touchscreens, USB-C fast charging and Bluetooth audio connectivity so passengers can use their own headphones.

The announcement was made at Qantas’ annual general meeting on Friday.

“Ten of our A330s will undergo a cabin refurbishment from next year and be fitted with our next-generation economy seats that will be on our Sunrise aircraft,” CEO Vanessa Hudson told shareholders.

The Airbus A330s operate international flights to Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.

The first refurbished aircraft is expected to enter service by the end of next year and all 10 aircraft are expected to be refurbished by the end of 2026.

The new economy seats will be the same as those featured on Qantas’ ultra long haul A350-1000ULR aircraft, giving customers a preview of what to expect during the Project Sunrise flying experience.

The first Project Sunrise aircraft is scheduled to arrive in mid-2026, which will operate flights from Sydney to London and New York.

Qantas avoids second strike

Qantas avoided a second strike at the AGM, with more than 75 per cent of shareholders voting overwhelmingly in favour of its remuneration report.

Last year, almost 83 per cent of Qantas shareholders rejected the company’s remuneration report, which included $21.4 million payout for former CEO Alan Joyce on his early exit.

The result was the first remuneration strike recorded against Qantas in its history and if a second strike was recorded at the 2024 AGM, there would have been a spill of board positions.

‘Put this period behind us’: The opening remarks

While the opening remarks at last year’s AGM involved an apology from both then chair Richard Goyder and new CEO Vanessa Hudson, the focus this year was about moving on.

John Mullen addressed the AGM for the first time as new Qantas chair, promising issues that caused reputational damage for the airline “have been and are being comprehensively addressed”.

“There is no pretending that last year was anything other than a very difficult year for Qantas,” he said.

Mr Mullen said it was “time now to put this period behind us” and said he believed Qantas now had the “outstanding management team” it needed to move forward.

“Will we get everything right going forward? No, we won’t,” he said.

“Will we make mistakes in the future? Inevitably, we will. But you have our absolute commitment to learn from the past, correct mistakes quickly and ethically if they occur, and ensure that we earn the trust and respect of all of our stakeholders from Government to customers, to employees, and to everyday Australians.”

Ms Hudson said Jetstar and Qantas were seeing positive results from the changes the company had made.

“I acknowledge we do not always get it right but the feedback from customers and what we hear when travelling suggests we have turned the corner,” she said.

Qantas posted an underlying profit before tax of $2.08 billion for the 2023-24 financial year, down 16 per cent on the year prior.

It was the company’s first full year results with Ms Hudson, the group’s former chief financial officer, at the helm.

When posting the results in August, the new chief executive described the results as “strong” but acknowledged they were lower, attributing the drop to lower airfares and lower freight revenue, as well as greater investment in customers ($230 million).

She said it was crucial to “get the balance right” between customer and employee satisfaction, and delivering for shareholders.

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