Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has responded after advertising legend John Singleton attacked the airline's leader and marketing output last week.
Speaking last week to Sky Business, Singleton lashed out at Joyce and Qantas, arguing the company was experiencing a “management crisis”, and saying there was “nothing good” about the Qantas brand any more.
He attacked Qantas' marketing, advertising and “persona”.
However, speaking with Nine's Today, Joyce responded: “When you do the job like this you have to have to get a thick skin and there's a lot of people out there that have commentary on it. My focus is running Qantas, turning this great brand around, making sure that this company is around for at least the next 90 years.
“You have to make tough, difficult decisions in order to do that. Some people are unhappy about it, but we're focused on making sure we do the right thing for Qantas, its shareholders, its customers and the Australian public because they need a strong, healthy Qantas.”
The airline has recently launched a new advertising campaign using the tagline 'You're The Reason We Fly', replacing the famous 'Still Call Australia Home' positioning which had been implemented by Singleton himself.
Singleton has previously been linked with a consortium of businessmen looking to purchase the Australian airline. The group reportedly includes former Qantas boss Geoff Dixon and venture capitalist Mark Carnegie.
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