Qantas could withhold $16m in bonuses from Joyce

The union, which has had a volatile relationship with the national carrier for more than a decade, said replacing Richard Goyder with John Mullen offered workers a “glimmer of hope”.

The Flying Kangaroo’s regional arm is replacing older 50-seat Q300s out of Adelaide with the newer, larger planes, a switch enabled by its move last year to purchase 14 mid-life Q400s to transition its turboprop fleet to a single aircraft type.