This will be in print in 'The Australian Financial Review' tomorrow:

Almost half of AFR readers think Qantas boss Joyce should resign

Edmund TadrosProfessional services editor

Sep 4, 2022 – 4.37pm

"Almost half of the readers surveyed by The Australian Financial Review think Alan Joyce should resign as the chief executive of Qantas due to the airline’s recent poor customer service performance.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has issued an apology to customers for delays, cancellations and other problems.

The poll of 501 readers found 47 per cent believe Mr Joyce should take responsibility for the service woes of the airline, compared with 41 per cent who said Qantas’s issues were no different to other airlines.

In late August, Mr Joyce apologised and issued $50 vouchers to customers due to the ongoing flight delays and cancellations, airport queues, lost luggage and extended call centre delays.

He has argued that many of the problems – including airline and airport staff shortages, higher-than-normal sickness levels in the industry and high fuel prices – are global in nature and beyond the control of the airline’s leadership.

However, the airline under Mr Joyce has also drastically cut staff numbers during the pandemic, with total employees falling from 29,400 in March 2020 to 21,600 as of mid-2022.

Some readers said the service level problems at Qantas were due to staff cuts at the airline during his leadership.

“Where there is an alternative, I will never fly Qantas again. Alan Joyce is responsible for the demise of service levels given years of overly aggressive cost-cutting,” a reader wrote.

Another reader wrote: “Perhaps if Mr Joyce hadn’t sacked so many thousands of workers (some illegally) Qantas wouldn’t be having its current abysmal problems and service..."