Ann: Qantas Group Announces Frequent Flyer Program Expansion, page-20

Qantas doing what Qantas has always done, slight of hand. Be it leasing plans it owns off the balance sheet (no longer able by accounting standards changes, IFRS 16) or raising the debt exposure of the balance sheet again whilst doing buybacks, it now does the usual ambiguious points loyalty effort to regain consumer brand credibility coupled with a share buyback, sending the share price higher in the long term, but rising debt despite foregoing extensively needed cap-ex in an ageing fleet for short term business gains. Shareholders may lament the lack of dividend, but without the share buyback they would not be enjoying such capital gains - and the executive teams' performence rights wouldn't quite get over the line without it ('look at what we did for you with the share price - $$$ for us too").

https://simpleflying.com/qantas-oldest-planes-2024/

(whether you pay cash or points, flying to Singapore or Bali in a 20 year old Boeing never good value - though to be fair Iran Air still flying an A300 from 1981)

Hudson just doing a watered down version of Joyce's old tactics, that are the age old practice of most airline executives in their defence - Joyce was just more ignoble than most in how far he stretched Qantas' service quality and lack of capex/cost cutting.

Short term hold on share-buyback, long-term sell as management do nothing new to improve the business and slowly run debt ratios back up again to keep shareholders and customers (less) happy and collect performance awards.