I’ll go feral: Qantas grounds tell-tale insider’s book, for now

The speechwriter for Qantas threatened to “go feral” if the airline stopped her from publishing a tell-all book.

Lucinda Holdforth was responsible for writing Qantas chief Alan Joyce’s speech during the 2011 grounding. Picture: Britta Campion

The speechwriter for Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce threatened to “go feral” if the airline stopped her from publishing a new tell-all book.

Qantas has urged the NSW Supreme Court to block publication of the manuscript by ­Lucinda Holdforth, titled Fighting Words.

Court documents reveal Holdforth emailed Mr Joyce and executive Olivia Wirth to get ­official approval to publish the manuscript on March 14.

She said the manuscript was her “personal speechwriter’s take” on the airline’s radical 2011 decision to ground its fleet during an industrial stand-off.

Holdforth has worked for Qantas since February 2008, ­attending confidential strategy meetings with senior Qantas managers and being privy to market-sensitive information.

She was responsible for writing Mr Joyce’s speech during the 2011 grounding.

Lawyers for Qantas argue publication of the manuscript should be permanently blocked because it contains confidential information that could damage the airline.

Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin yesterday urged the parties to try to resolve their dispute by mediation.

The airline was granted a temporary injunction on Tuesday. The dispute will be back in court on July 6.

Holdforth’s part-time role earning $165,000 a year on a pro rata basis is now under a cloud, but she has not been sacked.

In an email to Ms Wirth last Friday, Holdforth warned that Fighting Words would enter the public domain. She said Qantas could agree to the publication and she would make changes to assuage its concerns, but if it took legal action she would ignore any court order and release the manuscript online.

She also allegedly told a ­senior Qantas lawyer the airline should work with her to get the book published or she would be “forced to go feral”.

Qantas said in a statement that Holdforth had sought to “exploit for personal gain” the airline’s confidential internal ­information.