Alan Joyce says he has sworn off the corporate frontline after his scandal-riddled Qantas exit, with smaller projects and family to define his next chapter.
His two-decade stints leading Jetstar then Qantas should be counted in dog years, he says.
“You don’t know the stress you’re under until you’re out of it,” he told AAP on Thursday.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve done my bit as CEO”.
Mr Joyce departed ahead of schedule in 2023, ushered out by then-chairman Richard Goyder.
Qantas lost public favour after standing down thousands of workers and unlawful "ghost flight" ticket sales, and post-lockdown ticket prices seen as gouging customers.
While Mr Joyce looked to court attention for his memoir Riding the Jet Stream, he loathed facing the public through COVID-19.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have been out there, and maybe that’s what people think was ego - it was not ego," he said.
"I felt like I needed to defend it. I probably would have had a different approach if I was doing it again today."
The carrier remains on the hook for decisions taken during his final years.
Qantas in March settled a $105 million class action over its decision to issue flight credits instead of cash refunds for cancelled COVID-19 flights.
A separate $160 million payout to the illegally sacked staff is still outstanding, as a Sydney court on Tuesday heard workers remain profoundly distressed by a delay in payment.
Mr Joyce defended the outsourcing at the time, and passed the buck to the then-domestic and international chief in his book.
The decision left him heartbroken, he said.
"I was making friends with those people ... six months prior to that we were at a record profit, record share price, hiring people in all of these areas, buying new aircraft," Mr Joyce said.
“To have to do this was horrendous, but it was what happened at the time.”
The 60-year-old outlined minimal appetite to take another CEO posting, and would not be drawn on the nature of projects he would enter.
“I have this great image of flying back to Ireland a lot, seeing my family there, looking after my mum … I don’t want to take on anything that’s too intense like it was before.”
Mr Joyce said his book was not intended to dredge up or address particular grievances, but instead considered it a dedication to his family.
"It is a lot more than that ... it goes through their struggles growing up in very high levels of poverty in Ireland, and their dedication to get their kids a better life and a better education," he said.
"So I dedicated the book to them, and it tells ... the book is bigger than (the Qantas years), it covers a lot more."
