Highs and lows of Qantas boss loved by investors, not passengers

Alan Joyce, who has simultaneously delighted shareholders and enraged passengers as head of Qantas, says he’s in no rush to take on a new job, let alone lead another airline. Joyce, one of the world’s highest-profile aviation bosses, will retire in November after 15 years at the helm of the iconic Australian airline. He said Wednesday he’s resisting the urge to accept offers of work that are already rolling in, less than a month after he announced he’ll be stepping down. “The temptation is to fill up the diary,” Joyce, who turns 57 at the end of June, said in an interview. Instead, he’s heeding advice to step back for six months. His enforced isolation will include a long trip to Antarctica, he said. Joyce is part of a small club of ever-present airline chiefs — think Michael O’Leary at Ryanair and Tim Clark at Emirates — who have become almost synonymous with flying. The Qantas CEO is running down the clock on a career that has seen peaks — successfully navigating multiple crises, enriching shareholders and extending the airline’s envied record of never having lost a jet plane — and troughs, including food attacks, death threats and a near-corporate collapse. Story features some of the highs and lows.<br/>