Qantas chief flies high with A$25m pay packet

Qantas Airways’ CE Alan Joyce has become one of the world’s highest-paid airline executives, near-doubling his annual pay packet to A$24.5m following a turnround at the Australian airline. The big increase reflects a jump in the value of shares awarded to the Irish-born executive under the carrier’s long-term incentive plan. Joyce raised US$17.2m this week by selling 3.75m shares, according to stock exchange filings, and still owns another 3.6m. “There is no question that these pay outcomes are high,” said Leigh Clifford, Qantas chairman. “That is because they reflect the company’s exceptional performance, including our top ranking for total shareholder return among global airline peers and every company on the ASX 100 [share index].”  Joyce’s pay ranks him among the world’s highest paid airline executives. Oscar Munoz, CE of United, was paid US$18.7m last year, while Doug Parker, head of American Airlines, received US$11.1m, the vast majority of which came in stock awards. Joyce is also among the highest-paid Australian chief executives at an ASX-listed company.<br/>