Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways announced on August 24 that Tino La Spina, the CEO of its international division, is leaving the group on September 1 as part of a fresh cost-cutting exercise. His responsibilities will devolve to Andrew David, the CEO of Qantas Domestic.

In its announcement, the airline attributed La Spina's departure to the flatlining of its international business. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “The COVID crisis is forcing us to rethink our business at every level. It’s increasingly clear that our international flights will be grounded until at least mid-2021 and it will take years for activity to return to what it was before. Under those circumstances, we’ve made the decision to consolidate the domestic and international business units under a single divisional CEO."

La Spina spent 14 years with Qantas, including four and a half years as Group CFO before being moved to head Qantas International in mid-2019. He was formerly the CFO of National Express Group Australia. Thanking La Spina for his service at the airline, Joyce said: "Tino has done a superb job throughout his 14 years at Qantas. He’s a talented executive who brings his trademark enthusiasm to every challenge. I know I speak for the rest of the executive team and for the Board in thanking him sincerely for the huge contribution he has made, particularly as Deputy CFO and then CFO for most of that time.”

Earlier, the airline had announced major pay cuts for its executives: the C-level leaders took three months of zero pay in the last quarter of FY20 and is on reduced pay (65 per cent for the CEO and 85 per cent for other executives) until November 2020. Its total layoffs amount to 20 percent of its workforce, rising to 25 percent at management level.