Four weeks remain until erstwhile Rear Windower Joe Aston publishes his much-anticipated book on the governance and ethical failings at Qantas. And few can be as aware of the ticking countdown than ex-Qantas chief Alan Joyce, the man arguably most responsible for the events that so captured Aston’s ire.

After over a year of keeping a distinctly low profile, Joyce has this week signed not one but two hefty PR operatives to deal with the fallout from the forthcoming The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out.