Joyce’s magical mystery tour to reshape his Qantas legacy

Alan Joyce, who has had five months to fashion a legacy for his 15 years wearing the Qantas crown, has embarked on a slew of farewell appearances, something of a magical mystery tour.

He has taken centre stage at the International Air Transport Association conference in Turkey and fronted an investor day in Sydney to sell the airline’s long-term vision, including how to keep the bumper profits rolling while funding a massive investment in new aircraft. All this while marketing the firm’s emissions-busting credentials.

But Joyce is clearly not satisfied with being considered the “shareholders’ king”. He aspires to be humanised by the masses of Australians, including the staff and customers, who have been throwing darts at him for years.

Perhaps the most jaw-dropping gig to date was the double act he fronted with this hitherto unheard of brother Anthony, an actuary from Medibank. The familial pair took the stage at an Actuaries Institute event to talk about, among other things, the courage of making right decisions, the value of actuaries, airline safety, and diversity and inclusion in the workforce.

This widely advertised event allowed Joyce the opportunity to showcase the airline’s credentials as a progressive employer, an issue where he showed clear leadership.

And while the inclusion issue had overwhelming support from staff (as would have the announcement on gender-agnostic uniforms and support for low heels), that is about where the love-in with staff started and finished.

From an industrial relations perspective, Joyce is considered one of the toughest bosses in living memory.

The unions representing the various roles inside Qantas, from cabin and ground staff to engineers and pilots, won’t see Joyce through that positive historical mist. From an industrial relations perspective, Joyce is considered one of the toughest bosses in living memory. Those endless and tortured enterprise bargaining negotiations became part of the industrial relations fabric of Qantas under Joyce – and who could forget the grounding of the airline in 2011.