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Alan Joyce: Why the Qantas boss is facing a restless Australian public

Alan Joyce, originally from Tallaght, runs Australian airline Qantas. Following difficulties the company has faced post-Covid, his name has entered Aussie slang – if anything goes wrong flight-wise, it’s been ‘Joyced’

Alan Joyce, chief executive of Qantas: the 56-year-old executive has weathered and survived many public relations storms during his 13 years at the top of the airline. Illustration: Peter Hanan

Alan Joyce, the Irish chief executive of Qantas, has become a verb. The people of Australia, who are renowned for their slang, have added the term “Joyced” to their lexicon, and unfortunately for the airline boss, it’s starting to stick.

“My Qantas flight to Canberra has just been #joyced. Same happened last week going the other way. Lack of workers apparently. Suppose that becomes a thing when you sack a few thousand of them,” Dave ...