Unions are calling for the Qantas board to be sacked after the airline posted one of the worst losses in Australian corporate history.
Qantas posted a bottom line net loss of $2.8 billion in the year to June 30, compared to a $1 million profit a year ago, in the wake of the airline's battle with rival Virgin and another poor performance from its international division.
The result included a $2.6 billion writedown to the value of its ageing international fleet.
Despite the shocking numbers, Qantas chief Alan Joyce insists the worst is behind the 94-year-old company, and it is on track to post a profit in the current financial year.
But Transport Workers Union national secretary Tony Sheldon said Mr Joyce had made similar comments in the past.
The latest results were only vindication of a "lack of management" rather than good strategy, he said.
"We've seen the biggest loss this company has seen and the previous largest losses were under the stewardship of this board," Mr Sheldon told reporters in Sydney.
The board had "squandered" its 65 per cent share in the domestic market and must be held to account, Mr Sheldon said.
"We've been told that the next big decision was the one that was going to turn the airline around. It's failed to, all we've seen is the next big loss," he said.
The record loss means the only option is for the board and Mr Joyce to be removed, The Australian Services Union (ASU) said.
The current board had taken Qantas from being one of the world's most profitable airlines to being one of the least profitable, ASU assistant national secretary Linda White said.
"A strategy which is about offshoring jobs, decreasing customer service and jeopardising safety and blaming everyone other than themselves has not gone well so far, and it is time for a fresh approach that a new CEO and board can bring to Qantas," she said.
The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) criticised the airline for failing to invest properly in its fleet, and also called on the federal government to do more to ensure Qantas remains viable.
"Qantas management has got this badly wrong since privatisation, primarily through poor aircraft choices," AIPA president Nathan Safe said.
The federal government should be taking a more active role in ensuring the viability of Qantas, he said.
"Governments around the world play a critical role. The Australian Government cannot simply turn away and expect Qantas to play by free market rules not being observed by the rest of the world."
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