Qantas leadership turmoil: Goyder and fellow directors to exit.

It would not have been hard to hear the raucous cheers of celebration today across Australia when Qantas Chair, Richard Goyder, announced he would be resigning his Chairmanship from the embattled airline in 2024.

As Chair along with a dysfunctional board of has-beens, Goyder, allowed Qantas’s Grim Reaper, Alan Joyce, to run amok with the airline without any accountability.

For Joyce’s 15-year reign of ruination, Goyder and the board thought it was a great idea to handsomely reward him for his ongoing destruction of Australia’s national icon.

It would be fascinating to see just how many turn up to Goyder’s farewell celebration, few you would think.

Goyder’s move is the culmination of a series of blunders and scandals, as he and two fellow directors prepare to vacate their posts.

Goyder and Qantas’s board throughout recent months have felt the heat of mounting pressure and outrage from shareholders over the company's continued mishandling and plummeting reputation.

Qantas shares, attempting a feeble recovery, crawled up 1.2% to open at $4.96 on today.

However, what’s considered as a minor uptick, is perceived as a desperate bid to appease shareholders, coinciding with the announcement of the board's so-called "renewal effort."

Industry experts, however, argue these moves are band-aids for deeper, systemic issues plaguing Australia’s once-revered national icon.

Maxine Brenner and the head of the remuneration committee, Jacqueline Hey, plan their exit by February, but Goyder's departure will take place, prior to the 2024 annual general meeting.

The timing of Goyder’s resignation is a final effort to avoid direct accountability - raising eyebrows within the industry.

The move by Goyder further erodes his credibility, who recently, attempted to paint a picture of unity and support.

On September 28, he asserted he enjoyed the backing of Qantas’s top shareholders. However, his frantic meetings in Melbourne, Sydney, and other virtual catchups suggest a quite different story.

It's evident that major superannuation funds, holding a sizable portion of Qantas's shares, have grown weary of the airline's continued mismanagement.

"The early exit of Mr. Joyce, followed by Goyder's impending departure, paints a picture of a sinking ship with its captains hastily abandoning deck," says aviation analyst, Jane Spencer.

But the leadership crisis is just the beginning. Qantas’s descent into legal and public relations nightmares continues to accelerate.

The recent High Court ruling – which found Qantas guilty of unlawfully terminating 1700 workers – was a damning indictment of the company's practices.

This scandal, paired with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) ongoing legal proceedings against Qantas for deceptive conduct and the potential of a record $250 million fine, paints a grim picture of the airline's future.

The November 3 annual meeting, already marked as a pivotal moment, could lead to even more upheaval.

Directors Todd Sampson and Belinda Hutchinson are seeking re-election, and if they fail, it means a mass exodus of five board members in rapid succession.

Rachel Waterhouse, CEO of the Australian Shareholders Association, noted the series of red flags that have emerged in recent months.

"From the ACCC investigation to the mounting questions overboard oversight, there's a glaring deficit of accountability. The pressing question remains: how are they managing risks across the board?"

In the shadow of such a leadership debacle, Qantas shares touched a dismal 52-week low of $4.84 recently, reflecting a sharp decline of over 28% since June. The sale of shares by former CEO Alan Joyce in June only adds to the narrative of an airline in freefall.

Amid the chaos, there is a glimmer of hope. Ed John, executive manager for stewardship at the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, believes a change at the helm might just be the antidote.

For Qantas, many hinges on its next moves. With shareholders and industry experts watching closely, the airline stands at a crossroads: it can either embark on a challenging yet potentially rewarding path of renewal or continue its descent into irrelevance.

As this story continues to unfold, the broader implications for Australia's aviation industry and its workforce remain uncertain.

What is clear, however, is that this iconic brand faces its most formidable challenge yet.