The Irish-born, naturalised Australian has become well respected throughout the industry – not only for his longevity and the success of the airline he ran, but also for being a “good bloke”, albeit with a level of hubris.

Ironically, it was in the post-Covid period when the airline rode a long, strong bow wave of “revenge travel” demand to deliver its record A$2.47 billion ($1.59 billion) annual operating profit, that the shine off the airline – and its chief executive came off, and rather quickly.

Most of the criticism started once Australia began opening the internal borders between states in early 2022, and the airline struggled to cope with demand, leading to delays, lost baggage and a decline in overall customer service. It was summarised in one verb that has now entered the Australian lexicon: to be “Joyced”.

As Qantas struggled to cope Joyce was quick to divert attention to the problems plaguing other airlines, such as Lufthansa’s meltdowns in Europe, or massive baggage delays at London Heathrow. Only belatedly would the airline change its tone to admit that it was not at a standard that most passengers expected.

The carrier would later flip its tune, putting on-time performance figures and lowering mishandled baggage rates at the top of its investor updates, while major jumps in revenue and earnings came second.

Most recently though, Qantas has come under sustained attack for its role in lobbying Canberra not to grant Qatar a request for 28 more flights per week to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth in what was widely interpreted as a move seeking protection from Qatar Airways.

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