Qantas lowers altitude on CEO salary

The airline's annual report, released yesterday, reveals the chief executive, Alan Joyce, earned a total of $2.92 million in the year to June 30, down from $3.66 million a year earlier.

The chief of its Frequent Flyer division, Simon Hickey, earned $1.26 million, up from $1.1 million in 2008-09. The Frequent Flyer business was the standout again last financial year, helping keep the airline in the black as its flying operations struggled.

The early indications from companies such as Qantas, Lend Lease and the engineering company UGL suggest that boards have taken notice of the distaste for excessive executive pay.

However, it is still too early to judge whether there has been a fundamental shift in companies' approach because many are yet to lodge their annual reports.

In Qantas's case, it is now paying its top brass less in base pay than its previous management received.

Mr Joyce's base pay was just $1.7 million last financial year, compared with about $2.3 million earned annually by his predecessor, Geoff Dixon, in his last years at Qantas.

The base pay of Mr Joyce's counterpart at Virgin Blue, John Borghetti, is $1 million.

Qantas's latest pay card means its board will avoid a repeat of the last two years, when about two-fifths of shareholders voted against its remuneration reports.

In November shareholders took exception to Mr Dixon earning a $3 million compensation payment for tax changes in 2006. It boosted his his final pay to almost $11 million in 2008-09.

Qantas's former chief financial officer, Colin Storrie, earned a total of $2.46 million last financial year, which included a $871,000 termination payment. He left in March for "personal and health reasons".