The Chairman’s Lounge by Joe Aston
$7.99
The Chairman’s Lounge
- The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out
- By: Joe Aston
- Narrated by: Joe Aston
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs
About this listen
From the must-listen journalist on how power, money and influence work in this country, the full story of how one of the nation’s favourite brands brought itself to ground. Before COVID, both Qantas and its CEO Alan Joyce were flying high, the darlings of customers, staff and investors. After Covid hit, only money mattered—in particular, the company’s share price and extraordinary executive bonuses. Illegally redundant workers, unethical flight credits, abysmal customer service, antique aircraft: these became Qantas’ new brand. How did things go so badly wrong? Why were customers at the end of the queue? And how did an increasingly autocratic Joyce constantly get his own way, with the Qantas board and with both Liberal and Labor governments, which handed over billions in subsidies and protected lucrative flight routes from foreign competition? For the first time, The Chairman’s Lounge tells the full story of how one company banked the nation’s loyalty and then cashed in on it. In his celebrated column Rear Window for the Australian Financial Review, Joe Aston’s reporting of the ethical failings of Qantas spurred the early retirement of its CEO and the resignation of its chairman. With fresh interviews and revelations, written in Aston’s trademark swashbuckling style, The Chairman’s Lounge is the definitive account of how Qantas was brought to ground and who did it. It is a parable of our times. ‘A masterclass in investigative journalism … A scathing, unflinching takedown of greed, delusion and a shameless abuse of power, both jaw-dropping and brilliantly incisive’ Adele Ferguson
©2024 Joe Aston (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio
Robert Hitchins
Glad I’m not a shareholder
Given the quasi-sacred status of the national carrier in the national psyche, and the squirrel grip it holds on the national travel dollar, every Australian should read this book. Everyone with a non-self managed super account, and many with a self-managed one, are shareholders in this schemozzle.
The prose is crisp, clear, and dispassionate in its dissection of the subject matter. There’s precious little of Mr Aston’s trademark sarcasm. He doesn’t need it. The facts speak for themselves and are no laughing matter. His narration’s pretty good too.
Fraserdude
Outrage for all Australians
A must read if you fly Qantas. They really don’t deserve your business!
Demonstrates how Qantas went from trusted Australian company to corporate leech stealing from, not only their customers, but the Australian taxpayer. How they manipulated the market, accepted $2bn covid payment while laying off workers at the same time. How politicians accepted the the bribe of Chairman’s lounge memberships even for family members. Right up to the Prime Minister.
A lame board and Chairman that let it happen.
Best read with an Aircraft sick bag in one hand because this will make you sick!