‘I’m sorry ... but’: Apologetic Alan Joyce tells his side of the Qantas story
Worse than the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. A shock to the industry that could cost the company 10,000 jobs.In 2020, these predictions of the damage COVID-19 would wreak on the aviation industry were ringing in the ears of the Qantas board and chief executive Alan Joyce when the “Flying Kangaroo” announced it would sack 1820 ground crew. In moments of organisational chaos, political controversy and the “ghost flights” scandal, he was not prone to apology.
- ▪Worse than the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
- ▪A shock to the industry that could cost the company 10,000 jobs.In 2020, these predictions of the damage COVID-19 would wreak on the aviation industry were ringing in the ears of the Qantas board and chief executive Alan Joyce when the “Fly
- ▪In moments of organisational chaos, political controversy and the “ghost flights” scandal, he was not prone to apology.
Sydney Morning Herald publishes from Australia and files mainly under world. We currently carry 3,424 of its stories.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-07-26T14:01:00Z","datePublished":"2026-07-26T14:01:00Z","description":"Three years after stepping down as the airline’s chief executive, Alan Joyce has expressed regrets about its management during COVID – with some caveats.","headline":"‘I’m sorry ... but’: Apologetic Alan Joyce tells his side of the Qantas story","keywords":"Aviation, Qantas, Just in, Alan Joyce","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chris Zappone","jobTitle":"Senior reporter,…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Sydney Morning Herald.