Former American Airlines CEO and Chairman, Doug Parker, will join the Qantas Group Board, while long-serving Qantas Director Michael L’Estrange AO will retire from the board.
Parker brings more than 35 years of aviation experience from the North American aviation market to the position, which takes effect from today ahead of a shareholder vote at Qantas’ 2023 Annual General Meeting on 3 November.
American Airlines has been a long-time partner of Australia’s national carrier.
“There are few people with as much experience running airlines as Doug,” Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder said.
“He’s spent more than two decades as an airline CEO in North America, including eight years heading up the world’s largest airline.
“The knowledge and perspective he’ll bring to the board will be a huge asset as we grow in the years ahead.”
‘One of the world’s great airlines’
Parker said Qantas had “always been one of the world’s great airlines and it has clearly come through the pandemic in a very strong position”.
“I’m honoured to be joining the board at a time when there is a lot of momentum and I look forward to doing what I can to support that,” he added.
Meanwhile, L’Estrange will depart at the expiry of his term in November after three terms on the board.
“Michael has made a huge contribution to Qantas over the past seven years, especially during the most acute parts of the COVID crisis when the board met intensively,” Goyder remarked.
“He is an incredibly diligent director and, in particular, his insights on international relations and government affairs have been invaluable.”
L’Estrange said it had been “an absolute honour to serve on the Qantas Board”.
“Among the great strengths of Qantas are its clarity of purpose and the exceptional dedication and professionalism of its people,” he stated.
Goyder said the changes would help maintain the depth and breadth of experience on the board, which from the November AGM will consist of four women and four men.
Qantas ups profit guidance
Meanwhile, the Qantas Group has updated guidance on its profit for FY23, announcing an estimated Underlying Profit Before Tax of between $2.43 billion and $2.48 billion.
The airline said put the result down to continued strong travel demand and completion of its three-year recovery program.
It added that it was “on-track” to sharing the benefits of the recovery with its employees.
Earlier in the year, Qantas reported a record result for H1 FY23.
Last week, it announced a raft of major updates to its international network, including a big boost to services to the US and across Asia and multiple new routes.
