Qantas chief executive, Irishman Alan Joyce, has seen his salary at the Australian airline grow from A$2.92 million (€2.2 million) to A$5 million (€3.8 million).
The increase, which emerged in the airline’s annual report, prompted some criticism in Australia because it came weeks after Mr Joyce flagged the need for cost-cutting at the company. The jump in Mr Joyce’s pay packet was due mostly to a hike in his share-based payments. His remuneration is now well above that of the head of Asias largest airline, China Southern.
Mr Joyce warned last month that Qantas’s international arm would need to reduce its costs, which were 20 per cent above those of its competitors abroad. He cited “serious infrastructural challenges” at the business.