Jake Nelson

Goyder, who has faced demands to step down amid the furore surrounding the early exit of former CEO Alan Joyce, will hand over the reins in what the Flying Kangaroo says is part of a larger “board renewal”, recognising the recent damage to the brand and hoping to restore trust in Qantas.

Air Race X will see pilots race at various global sites on a “tight and technical track” at speeds of up to 370km/h and maximum gravity acceleration of 12G, with the flight data then used to create virtual, augmented and mixed-reality images of the planes racing each other.

The union’s national secretary, Michael Kaine, said the patience of Virgin staff currently involved in enterprise bargaining with the carrier is running out and that pilots are jumping ship for higher-paying jobs overseas while cabin and ground crews are taking on second jobs.

The airline posted a statutory NPAT of $129 million for FY23, with a group revenue of $5 billion – a 124 per cent revenue increase over FY22. Its airline operations, including domestic, international, and regional and charter flights, recorded combined revenue of $4,873 million, while the Velocity loyalty program saw $330 million in revenue.

Povey, who previously helped launch UK-based airline Jet2.com, was responsible for building the Bonza brand including its app-based bookings, local partnerships, gender-neutral uniforms, and the recent launch of branded Bonza Holidays packages.

The protected industrial action by pilots from Qantas subsidiary Network Aviation grounded half of the Flying Kangaroo’s flights within the state, forcing it to redeploy 737s and turn to other charter operators to fill the gap. Qantas said 75 per cent of affected customers would still fly on Wednesday.