Former American CEO Doug Parker Joins Qantas Board

Well that’s an interesting choice…

Qantas Board adds Doug Parker effective immediately

The Qantas Group has announced changes to its Board. Former American Airlines CEO and Chairman, Doug Parker, will join the Qantas Board effective immediately, “bringing more than 35 years of aviation experience gained in one of the world’s most dynamic aviation markets.”

Here’s how Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder describes Parker joining the Board:

“There are few people with as much experience running airlines as Doug. He’s spent more than two decades as an airline CEO in North America, including eight years heading up the world’s largest airline. The knowledge and perspective he’ll bring to the Board will be a huge asset as we grow in the years ahead.”

Meanwhile here’s what Parker has to say about his new position:

Mr Parker said: “Qantas has always been one of the world’s great airlines and it has clearly come through the pandemic in a very strong position. I’m honoured to be joining the board at a time when there is a lot of momentum and I look forward to doing what I can to support that.”

For context, Parker retired as CEO of American Airlines as of March 2022, and he stepped down as Chairman of the company as of April 2023. So this new role is coming for 61-year-old Parker just weeks after he fully left American.

Parker was one of the longest serving airline CEOs in history, as he spent 20 years as CEO of America West, then US Airways, and then American Airlines, seeing the airline through two mergers.

Parker is an interesting choice for Qantas

To Parker’s credit, he’s had an absolutely amazing career. Being CEO of an airline for 20 years, and seeing it through two mergers, is something that just about no one does. That being said, I can’t help but find Parker to be an odd choice.

There are two things I find particularly impressive about Parker’s career:

• He’s great at consolidation, and great at staying CEO through all this, despite the fact that in both cases he ran the smaller airline
• It’s a miracle he kept his job for so long (especially toward the end), despite American largely underperforming the industry

Is Parker going to provide his expertise on how to run an airline while lacking a strategy, or will he focus more on how to take on an unbelievable amount of debt? I mean, I’m sort of kidding here, but also not. I suppose he could add a lot of value if Qantas was looking at industry consolidation, but how much less competitive can aviation in Australia get?

Then again, perhaps he’s a good fit for Qantas. Qantas’ Board has let Alan Joyce run the airline for so many years, and he’s not exactly a class act in terms of labor relations, customer experience, etc. (with some notable exceptions, like some of the carrier’s lounges). Joyce will be retiring as of November 2023, but now the airline also gets Parker in some capacity, so…

Bottom line

Rather than just enjoying his tens of millions (or perhaps $100+ million) and chilling out, former American Airlines CEO Doug Parker will be joining the Board of Qantas. This comes just weeks after Parker stepped down as Chairman of American.

What do you make of Doug Parker joining Qantas’ Board?