Qantas CEO to depart early as airline looks to rebuild reputation

Australia’s Qantas Airways said its long-serving CEO would bring forward his retirement amid a publicity firestorm over an accusation of illegal ticket sales, signalling what the flagship carrier hopes is the end of a tumultuous period.

Alan Joyce, the company’s boss for 15 years, had been scheduled to retire in November but said in a statement on Tuesday that he was leaving two months early due to “the focus on Qantas and events of the past” in the last few weeks, without elaborating.Five days earlier, Australia’s consumer watchdog sued Qantas alleging it sold tickets to some 8,000 flights in mid-2022 after they were cancelled, violating the country’s consumer law.