Will QAN survive?, page-2638

The points below made by Mr Alan Joyce have some legitimacy but have created a media storm, so he 'walked them back'.

Perhaps he would have been better off to have stayed silent, especially given the problems for months with the call centres that still have not been fixed.

How can QAN as a lossmaking entity afford to 'p---s off' prospective patrons?

If Mr Joyce continues to anger passengers, surely the Board ought consider whether his time is up. (But of course, the members won't).

(from the News website):

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has watered down suggestions customers are to blame for lengthy delays at Sydney Airport.

Mr Joyce originally pinned the long queues on the “match fitness” of travellers.

He later stressed there were a number of factors at play as the industry bounced back from Covid.

“Just to be clear, I’m not ‘blaming’ passengers. Of course it’s not their fault,” Mr Joyce said on Friday.

The high-flying executive earlier said there were a number of reasons for the delays, which included passengers being unfamiliar with security protocols and newly trained staff.

“I went through airport security this morning myself. Everyone is doing their best including passengers, who are showing incredible patience in these queues,” Mr Joyce said.

He added similar pressures were being seen at airports around the world.

“It’s something we’re all working hard to get through,” Mr Joyce said.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce has blamed travellers for the delays seen at Sydney Airport. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Sydney Airport has struggled to cope with the influx of travellers in the first major holiday period since Australia reopened its borders.

On Friday, Mr Joyce called passengers being “not match fit”, along with new security staff were leading to the delays.

“I went through the airports on Wednesday and people forget they need to take out their laptops, they have to take out their aerosols,” he said.

“A lot of the security people are new. And they’re going to be cautious as they get up to speed on it. So that is taking longer to get through the queue.”