Joyce warns of "hard road ahead"

Joyce warns of "hard road ahead"
By admin


The popularity of Qantas boss Alan Joyce could take a tumble in the coming months as he signaled that more “hard decisions” lie on the horizon.

Speaking at the Tourism and Transport Forum’s Friends of Tourism event in Canberra yesterday, Joyce confirmed the airline will forge ahead with its “accelerated” transformation plan, with cost reductions of $2 billion targeted over a three year period.

“The decisions I have made have not been easy and they have not been popular with everyone,” Joyce admitted.

“There is no doubt that there will be more hard decisions for Qantas over the months to come. We will look at all the options and consider all steps to strengthen our business. Few of the decisions we make will be popular.”

But that “hard road ahead” is a necessary part of adapting to the globalisation of the aviation industry, he continued. He identified Asia Pacific as the world’s most competitive aviation region, and Australia as the “most open and competitive” market in that region.

The disparity in the rules that apply to Qantas and those that apply to its rivals makes it even more difficult to difficult to compete, according to Joyce who repeated his call for the government to restore balance to an “uneven playing field”.

While he underlined the repeal of the Qantas Sale Act as an “essential” part of this process, he acknowledged  “little political and community appetite” to change the act in the short term. Instead, he proposed other “appropriate solutions”, although he did not detail what these might be other than they did not amount to a “handout”.

“We have never asked for a handout and we are not asking for one now,” Joyce emphasised, adding he has been encouraged by the level of government engagement on the issue so far.

"We look forward to continuing our discussions, recognising the urgency of the challenges Qantas faces." 

 

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