QANTAS: Alan Joyce gets final payout, and Vanessa Hudson pay jumps 44%

Former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is back in the headlines. It’s his final multimillion-dollar payday. The man who led the Flying Kangaroo through COVID lockdowns, mass layoffs, and initiated a reputational nosedive has pocketed AU$3.8 million (~US$2.5 million) worth of shares. That’s after the board slashed most of his other incentive pay last year.

The last payday

When shareholders revolted against Joyce’s AU$14.4 million pay packet in 2023, the board tore up his long-term incentive plans. However, it left one, his 2023–2025 incentive payment plan, tied to Qantas’ share price performance and shareholder returns. Since the airline hit those targets, Joyce has now received 353,956 share rights, priced at $10.74 at the end of June ’25. That gives him AU$3.8 million for his final hurrah!

Over the past year, Qantas shares have surged 72%, closing at AU$11.78 on Friday, 5 September 2025. That share price reflects soaring demand for travel and reductions in fuel prices.

Scandals still fresh

The payout is unlikely to win Joyce any fans among customers or former staff. Lets just trip down memory late, and remember that under his watch, Qantas racked up:

• A AU$100 million fine for selling tickets on already-cancelled ‘ghost flights.’
• A $90 million penalty for illegally sacking 1,800 ground workers during the pandemic, plus a AU$120 million compensation judgement to be paid to those staff.
• Hoarding COVID flight credits, and misrepresenting what they were worth, which was AU$1.4 billion.

A governance review later judged that Joyce had run Qantas on a command and control model, which had “not achieved the right balance between the interests of our different stakeholders,” contributing to its “significant reputational and customer service issues.”

Hudson cashes in too

Meanwhile, Joyce’s successor Vanessa Hudson is being rewarded for steering Qantas into calmer skies. Her total pay package jumped 44% in the last financial year, to AU$6.3 million, according to the Qantas annual report filed with the ASX this week.

That figure combines a range of elements in her package, including a base salary of AU$1.48 million, short-term bonuses of AU$2.04 million, and a long-term incentive plan that could be worth up to $2.4 million. Additional benefits add another AU$374,000.

Hudson didn’t get everything going her way. She had $250,000 deducted from her annual bonus as a penalty for the June cyberattack privacy breach that exposed data on 5.7 million customers.

What is unfathomable is that she received no additional penalty for her relentless prosecution of the 1,800 illegally sacked ground workers. Under Alan Joyce, Hudson was on the leadership team, and the head of finance who authorised millions spent on appeal after appeal against the initial judgement that Qantas had acted illegally.

In fact, Qantas chairman John Mullen praised her performance, saying:

“The business had an outstanding year, delivering not just on financial metrics but importantly delivering for customers and our people.”

Tell that to the 1800 workers who illegally lost their jobs during the pandemic at the hands of Qantas.

Other remuneration

Jetstar boss Stephanie Tully was the second-highest-paid executive at the Qantas Group, with a package of AU$3.08 million. Qantas group chief financial officer Rob Marcolina came in just behind her at AU$3.02 million.

Some other executives received a 15% bonus deduction due to the cyber attack and consequent breach of customers’ privacy.

Let’s also not forget that last year, shareholders overwhelmingly rejected the remuneration report brought to that AGM. We will have to wait until Friday, 7 November 2025, at 11.00 am in Brisbane for what shareholders think of the current report.

2PAXfly Takout

It’s interesting to muse on the contrasting fortunes of Joyce and Hudson. The narrative surrounding Joyce is now firmly centred on his final years of leadership, marked by cost-cutting, fines, public deception, and courtroom losses.

It’s important to note, as Joyce does, that he guided the airline through the pandemic with the support of billions of dollars from the federal government through the JobKeeper program. His leadership, despite its flaws, did see the survival of Qantas when many other airlines failed.

His decision to ground the entire airline at the beginning of his reign, to challenge the unions, stranding thousands of passengers, is no longer mentioned in most news stories. We should have known that was an early sign of his arrogant traits.

Hudson, on the other hand, is positioned as the leader bringing the airline back. Her narrative is about staff bonuses, refreshed fleets, record profits, a share price increase, a dividend for shareholders, and, it’s hoped, a reputation rebuild.

Whether customers agree remains to be seen. Having seen off two competitors (Bonza and REX), the Flying Kangaroo has bounced back financially amidst reduced competition. But, in the eyes of many travellers, Qantas is still climbing out of a reputational hole that Joyce’s $3.8 million farewell only deepens.