Qantas boss receives colossal pay rise

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce. Photo / File

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has almost doubled his pay packet, with a massive bonus taking his annual earnings to almost A$25 million (NZ$27.4m).

The 51-year-old earned the 90 per cent jump in remuneration from his 2016 take home pay of A$12.9m as a reward for increasing the airline's share price, the Daily Telegraph reported.

In the Qantas annual report released on Friday, Joyce's total package was listed at A$24.6m.

Three years ago, the Irish-born businessman's job leading the national carrier was in doubt after a slump in revenue saw it post a A$2.84 billion loss.

But he was offered a high bonus under a vested share incentive scheme if he could change the fortunes of Qantas in a A$2b turnaround plan.

Significant increases in the Qantas share price over the last three years - a 353 per cent jump from A$1.26 to A$5.72 - sealed the deal.

Joyce recently donated A$1m to the "yes" campaign for same sex marriage.

Joyce's base pay is A$2.1m, but the long-term share incentive scheme which has boosted his income has made him one of Australia's highest paid chief executives.

Joyce's A$24.6m remuneration puts him up among Westfield joint chief executives bosses Peter and Steven Lowy, who received A$24.7m last year from the shopping centre empire started by their father Frank.

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) CEO Pay in ASX 200 Companies report the Lowys topped the list of its highest paid bosses last year combined.

Macquarie Group's Nicholas Moore was the highest-paid individual chief executive on a reported basis with A$16.3m.

Other chief executives who came in the top 10 of the ACSI CEO Pay in ASX 200 Companies report last year were Seek Limited's Andrew Bassat (A$19.3m), Scentre Group's Peter Allen (A$17.8m), James Hardie Industries boss Louis Gries (A$15.4m), Ramsay Heath Care's chief executive Chris Rex (A$15.4m), Domino's Pizza boss Don Meij (A$13.7m), Caltex Australia's Julian Segal (A$13.4m), Aristocrat Leisure chief executive Jamie Odell (A$12.6m) and Brian Benari from Challenger who received A$12.34m.

The US-born boss of boss of Australian energy giant AGL, Andy Vesey earns A$6.9m, while Energy Australia's chief executive Catherine Tanna gets a A$5.1m salary and bonus.
Former Australia Post CEO Ahmed Fahour, who recently resigned, earned $5.6m.