Qantas pilots demand chairman quit over scandals

SYDNEY – A union for pilots employed by Australia’s Qantas Airways has called for the company’s chairman to resign following a series of scandals that have drawn fierce criticism from travellers, regulators, lawmakers and the airline’s own employees.

The Australian and International Pilots Association (Aipa), which represents most of Qantas’ roughly 3,000 pilots, said on Tuesday that it has written to the airline’s new chief executive officer Vanessa Hudson demanding the resignation of chairman Richard Goyder, saying morale “has never been lower”.

“We have totally lost confidence in Goyder and his board,” Aipa president Tony Lucas said in a statement. “Qantas desperately needs a culture reset, but how can this happen with Richard Goyder as chairman?”

Qantas declined to comment, referring Reuters to previous public comments from Mr Goyder where he refused to quit.

Mr Goyder, who has been Qantas chairman since 2018, is not up for re-election at the airline’s annual meeting in November.

With the addition of its pilots, Qantas – which sells three in five Australian domestic fares – has drawn public attacks from almost every stakeholder group, following the string of scandals that

saw its previous longstanding CEO Alan Joyce bring forward his retirement.

In a few weeks, Qantas has been accused of lobbying the federal government to stop rival Qatar Airways from selling more flights to Australia, served with an antitrust lawsuit

alleging it sold tickets on thousands of cancelled flights,

and found in court to have sacked 1,700 ground staff illegally.

The resulting criticism from lawmakers, unions, investors and consumer groups has overshadowed a record annual profit reported by the airline in August.

“Qantas has a lot of work to do to repair the damage that has been done to its reputation, both in terms of workers and in terms of customers,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters, when asked about the pilot demand for Mr Goyder to leave.

Aipa did not say who should replace Mr Goyder, nor did it say what it would do if he stayed on as chairman.

Qantas, meanwhile, warned on Monday that persistently high oil prices were driving up its fuel costs, prompting analysts to downgrade profit forecasts.

The airline was also hit with its first sell rating in a year, a rare rebuke from a largely loyal analyst community as concern mounts about the cost of repairing the carrier’s bruised reputation.

CLSA analyst Justin Barratt cut his recommendation on Qantas shares to reduce from accumulate, becoming the sole analyst with a sell rating on the airline among 17 tracked by Bloomberg.

Qantas shares fell 1.3 per cent to A$5.16 on Tuesday, extending their decline in September to 13 per cent. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG