Long-serving Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce has led the airline since 2008 and is expected to stay on until at least the end of this year, but shareholders have questioned the carrier's succession plans.

During Joyce's tenure, several senior executives seen as potential internal successors have left, including former Jetstar boss Gareth Evans, who exited in December after 23 years with Qantas.

Qantas Domestic and International Chief Executive Andrew David will retire in September, the airline said on Monday, as it announced plans for Wallace to take on part of his role and to search for a new head of its domestic division.

The domestic and international roles were combined in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, when the airline grounded its international fleet with the exception of charter and freight flights because of Australia's strict border policies.

Before Wallace's appointment was announced, analysts and investors had pointed to Chief Financial Officer Vanessa Hudson and Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth as possible internal successors to Joyce.

Wallace was most recently chief executive of New Zealand commercial radio company MediaWorks, having left Air New Zealand in 2021 after 19 years with the carrier.

"Cam (Wallace) is inheriting a very talented team and will add to the depth of experience on our Group Management Committee," Joyce said in a statement.

Qantas last week swung to a record first-half profit as appetite for travel grew faster than it could sell seats, but warned sky-high fares would moderate as it and competitors added more flights.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

By Jamie Freed