After Alan Joyce’s departure, will Qantas soar new skies?

A turbulent two weeks for Qantas have culminated in its group chief executive Alan Joyce fast-tracking his retirement by two months to help the organisation and its brand accelerate its renewal.

Joyce was on the way out in any case and was paid a board-approved bonus worth more than $10 million on Friday, to which were to be added short-term and long-term bonuses taking the total to $24 million.

What the early retirement will do is bring forward the arrival of chief executive-designate Vanessa Hudson, to enable her to drive a cultural change and a new strategy.

It is not unreasonable to assume she will say that what happened in the past is Joyce’s legacy and that under her leadership the airline will transform and essentially start with a clean sheet.