Qantas CEO retires early as airline confronts controversy

Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Qantas Group said Tuesday that its chief executive officer, Alan Joyce, will leave the company two months earlier than previously announced as the Australian flagship airline confronts controversy.

It was first announced in early May that Joyce, who has helmed the company for 15 years, would retire in November when Qantas' chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson would take over as the first woman to lead the century-old airline.

But the company on Tuesday announced that Hudson would now take over the reins from Wednesday when Joyce would be stepping down.

The unexpected announcement comes weeks after Qantas posted record annual earnings, but was then followed days later by a lawsuit filed against the company by the Australian regulator accusing Qantas of selling tickets for more than 8,000 flights that had already been canceled.

On Monday, Qantas issued an apology to customers while acknowledging that its service standards have fallen "well short" and that the reputation of the airline "has been hit hard on several fronts."

Joyce acknowledged the controversy in his statement Tuesday, saying: "In the last few weeks, the focus of Qantas and events of the past make it clear to me that the company needs to move ahead with its renewal as a priority."

"The best thing I can do under these circumstances is to bring forward my retirement and hand over to Vanessa and the new management team now, knowing they will do an excellent job," he said.

Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder defended Joyce, saying the outgoing CEO always had the best interests of the company "front and center, and today shows that," while acknowledging "[t]his transition comes at what is obviously a challenging time."

"We have an important job to do in restoring the public's confidence in the kind of company we are, and that's what the board is focused on, and what the management under Vanessa's leadership will do," Goyder said.

Joyce's retirement will also expedite other executive changes that were announced in June, including appointing Hudson's replacement, Rob Marcolina, as CFO.