Qantas has rewarded $10 million in bonus shares to outgoing CEO Alan Joyce

Alan Joyce and fellow Qantas execs were forced to report to the ASX details of their share parcels. Mr Joyce’s will form part of his expected $24 million final package.

Outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce was rewarded with $10 million worth of bonus shares for guiding the airline through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Joyce and fellow executives had to report to the ASX on Friday the details of their share parcels, which revealed he pocketed 1.74 million shares, valued at just over $10 million, while chief financial officer and soon-to-be Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson received $2 million worth.

The bonuses would form part of Mr Joyce’s final package of an expected $24 million to be announced ahead of the Qantas AGM in November — the month he departs from the airline.

The shares are for meeting the company’s Covid-19 targets — in accordance with Qantas’ long-term incentive and Covid recovery retention plans.

It has been revealed outgoing Qantas boss Alan Joyce pocketed 1.74 million in shares – valued at just over $10 million – for guiding the airline through the Covid pandemic. Picture NCA NewsWire / Aaron Francis

The announcement came just hours after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it hopes Qantas is hit with a hefty, multimillion-dollar fine for allegedly selling tickets on already cancelled flights.

On Thursday, the consumer watchdog filed proceedings against the flying kangaroo in the Federal Court for allegedly engaging in “false, misleading or deceptive conduct”.

It has accused the national carrier of advertising tickets for more than 8000 flights that it had already cancelled but not removed from sale.

The ACCC alleges Qantas kept selling tickets for the ‘ghost flights’ scheduled to depart between May and July last year.

They claim the airline kept selling tickets for more than a week and, in some cases, for up to 47 days, after the flights were cancelled.

The airline was required to report to the ASX on Friday details of the share parcels. Chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson (pictured) pocketed close to $2m worth. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

In a statement, Qantas said it took the allegations “seriously” and pointed to its “longstanding approach” to flight cancellations.

“(We have) a focus on providing customers with rebooking options or refunds. It’s a process that is consistent with common practice at many other airlines,” a spokesman said.

The airline said the period examined by the ACCC was a time of “unprecedented upheaval for the entire airline industry.”

“All airlines were experiencing well-publicised issues from a very challenging restart, with ongoing border uncertainty, industry wide staff shortages and fleet availability causing a lot of disruption,” a spokesman said.

“We will examine the details of the ACCC’s allegations and respond to them in full in court.”

Speaking on Sky News on Sunday morning, opposition leader Peter Dutton said he, “like many Australians”, is “disappointed” with the alleged way Qantas has been treating customers.

“There have been a lot of customers who I think have made legitimate complaints over the course of the last few days about their interactions with Qantas, the ability to get refunds for tickets purchased, and the ACCC obviously supports an investigation,” he told the network.

Mr Dutton said he believes a lot of Australians want the best for Qantas “because it’s an iconic brand”.

It comes as the ACCC filed a lawsuit against Qantas in the Federal Court on Thursday for allegedly selling tickets on 8000 flights it had already cancelled.

“But when you see the outcome to the decision of the government to stop Qatar coming in to compete against Qantas, a decision made by the Prime Minister, it means that people travel to Australian, when it comes to seeing family or going for holiday overseas, are literally paying thousands of dollars more for their airline ticket and I think that’s unconscionable.”

He also previously accused the Prime Minister of striking a secret “sweetheart deal” with Mr Joyce following the government’s decision to block Qatar Airways from expanding its network in Australia.

“It’s inflationary and it’s unfair to a lot of Australians who might have worked hard … to travel overseas,” Mr Dutton said on Thursday. “Under [this deal] they will pay thousands more for airfares.”

He expressed his support for the Middle Eastern airline’s application to add 21 weekly flights to the 28 it already operates, saying he wants “more capacity in the system” and more inbound tourism.

“There will be a lot more questions for the government on the deal in the coming weeks,” Mr Dutton added.

The government’s decision has been slammed as a move to protect Qantas from competition, with the relationship between the Prime Minister and Mr Joyce also coming under fire.

Meanwhile, on Thursday Qantas backflipped to remove the expiry dates on $570m worth of Covid travel credits after Mr Joyce was grilled in a Senate inquiry on Monday.

He was also was repeatedly accused of not directly answering questions surrounding his relationship with the Prime Minister.

Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne asked Mr Joyce if he had discussed Qatar’s proposal last October to increase its flights to Australia with Mr Albanese or Transport Minister Catherine King.

But Mr Joyce said he would never divulge a discussion he had with any prime minister.

“I’ve said any conversations I have with the Prime Minister or Minister, I never divulge,” he told the committee.

“I’ve kept that for all seven prime ministers either way and I have no intent on changing my approach to divulging conversations that take place.”

During the inquiry, Mr Joyce, however, confirmed that Qantas had sent a letter to the federal government in October 2022 about the proposal from Qatar, claiming that allowing the Doha-based carrier to have extra flights would distort the air travel market.

“We said to the government that capacity was coming back … quite rapidly in all of these markets, and that granting a carrier doubling their traffic rights in the short term would cause distortion,” Mr Joyce said.

“A lot of capacity is being added to the market and it‘s going to be significant over the next year, and that will bring down airfares quite considerably.”