Qantas finds a friend in Flight Centre boss despite damaging ACCC charges

Qantas has found a friend in Flight Centre boss Graham Turner who has defended the airline which has been rocked by damaging ACCC allegations.

Vanessa Hudson rubs shoulders with staff just days into her new role. Picture: Getty Images

Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner says Qantas and its former chief executive, Alan Joyce, should be given the “benefit of the doubt” in relation to allegations the carrier sold tickets for cancelled flights.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accused Qantas of false, misleading and deceptive behaviour in relation to the allegations which will be heard in the Federal Court on September 21.

Qantas is expected to defend the claims on the basis that no customer paid “a fee for no service” and that any ticketholders on cancelled flights were offered a refund or an alternative flight.

The airline has also pointed to the widespread disruption throughout the aviation industry in the first half of 2022 as carriers struggled to get aircraft and crew back in the air.

Mr Turner said it was a difficult time for everyone in the travel industry, which should be taken into consideration.

“I know companies like ours and Qantas were just coming out of two years of government lockdowns and there were a lot of operational issues,” he said.

“I would be surprised if these issues were around operational competence, or perhaps incompetence, rather than a deliberate attempt to get commercial advantage.”

Mr Turner conceded that the Qantas brand had been damaged, but said the carrier could rebuild its reputation.

Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner. Picture: Justine Walpole

Four days after the ACCC filed the lawsuit, Mr Joyce announced he would retire as CEO immediately to help Qantas “accelerate its renewal”.

Vanessa Hudson was elevated to the position of chief two-months ahead of schedule, and faces the unenviable task of navigating Qantas through the current crisis.

As well as the ACCC lawsuit, Ms Hudson was awaiting next week’s High Court ruling over claims of illegal outsourcing by Qantas brought by the Transport Workers Union.

Both the Federal Court and Full Federal Court found Qantas could not prove it was not motivated by a prohibited reason when it outsourced the jobs of nearly 1700 ground staff.

Qantas elevated the matter to the High Court, in the hope of overturning the previous rulings.

In the event the High Court finds in favour of the TWU, Qantas was likely to face a significant fine but the airline would not be required to reinstate the workers.

Throughout the case, Qantas’ legal team argued that domestic and international chief executive Andrew David was the sole decision-maker in the matter, and that Mr Joyce was not involved.

Mr David was due to retire from Qantas at the end of the month, and chief customer officer Markus Svensson takes his place.

Pressure continues to build on the Qantas board for failing to intervene sooner as the airline’s reputation began to disintegrate due to the controversy over travel credits, allegations of slot hoarding, Qatar Airways, flight cancellations and high airfares.

Chairman Richard Goyder has insisted he was not going anywhere, after being re-elected by shareholders at last year’s AGM.

Commenting on speculation there would be more board changes at Qantas, Mr Turner said that would be up to shareholders and the board.

Details of Mr Joyce’s final payout are expected in the lead-up to the AGM on November 3.

In addition to millions of dollars in shares and bonuses, Mr Joyce was entitled to extensive free travel with Qantas post-employment.

According to his contract signed in 2008, Mr Joyce and his “eligible beneficiaries” could take two international trips and 12 domestic flights a year for the rest of his life.

The “perk” was reined in somewhat for Ms Hudson, whose base salary is $400,000 a year less than Mr Joyce’s in his first year as CEO.

Post-employment, Ms Hudson and her family will be entitled to four international trips and 12 domestic flights a year, but only for as many years as she holds the position of CEO.

Originally published as Qantas finds a friend in Flight Centre boss despite damaging ACCC charges