Flanked by union leaders and the federal Skills Minister on Friday, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce pledged to train and hire 8500 new workers by 2033.

“What is going on?” our neighbouring column, Chanticleer, asked. “Has the most divisive CEO on the ASX gone soft? Is the hard man of aviation … rethinking his stakeholder engagement? Is Joyce, who sacked 9800 people as part of a three-year recovery plan, now putting workers ahead of shareholders?”