(Reuters) – Australia’s Qantas Airways said on Wednesday it would pay Alan Joyce, its former CEO who retired earlier this month, a remuneration of A$21.4 million ($13.8 million) for fiscal 2023, a near 10-fold jump from last year.
However, Joyce’s pay could be subject to adjustments and clawback as the Australian flagship carrier Qantas faces regulatory challenges over allegations of illegal ticket sales, which has also damaged its reputation.
Joyce, Qantas’ top boss for 15 years, brought forward his retirement by two months to earlier this month.
The airline, which controls a near 60% market share as of April, added in a statement that it was slashing its short-term incentives for senior executives for fiscal 2023 by 20% “in recognition of the customer and brand impact of cumulative events.”
The Australian competition regulator late last month accused Qantas of selling tickets to more than 8,000 flights between May and July 2022 without disclosing they had been cancelled, triggering a public firestorm.
“As part of good governance, after applying the 20% reduction the board will withhold the balance of the FY23 short term incentive for senior executives while this matter progresses,” the airline said.
($1 = 1.5504 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
