Qantas chairman, CEO to front inquiry, Joyce overseas
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder and new chief executive Vanessa Hudson will front up at a Senate inquiry into aviation landing rights on Wednesday but former boss Alan Joyce will not appear until he returns from overseas.
Mr Goyder and Ms Hudson will appear at hearings in Canberra on Wednesday along with Qatar Airways’ corporate affairs boss Fathi Atti, Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka and Bain Capital managing partner Ray Hass, as well as representatives from airlines Rex and Bonza. Former competition watchdog bosses Rod Sims and Alan Fels will also give evidence.
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder (right) and Vanessa Hudson will appear at the inquiry on Wednesday. But Alan Joyce will not. Rhett Wyman
Committee chairwoman Senator Bridget McKenzie said lawyers for Mr Joyce said the former CEO, who stepped down in early September, could not appear due to “personal obligations” while overseas.
The committee is due to report its findings by October 9. While there was “no indication” that Mr Joyce would be back in Australia by October 9, the committee plans to ask him to appear when he returned.
At hearings in Brisbane on Tuesday, both Brisbane and Melbourne airports backed giving Qatar Airways more flights as unions and government advisers called for more transparency on how the federal government decides which countries can fly in and out of Australia.
Brisbane Airport’s public affairs boss, Rachel Crowley, urged the federal government to “look kindly” on a resubmission from Qatar Airways after its request to add more flights to Australia was rejected in July.
While legislators needed to consider the interests of Australian carriers such as Qantas when making decisions, the aviation sector and the economy were bigger than
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