Alan Joyce, Qantas's former chief executive, has detailed for the first time how the airline decides who gets into its exclusive chairman's lounge, in a new memoir that also denies the perk was ever used to sway politicians. The revelations matter because the lounge's secretive membership process has long fuelled speculation, including at a Senate inquiry, about whether Qantas used privileged access to curry favour with lawmakers, judges and journalists.

In the book, Riding the Jet Stream, Joyce writes that he and the Qantas chair had only occasional input into invitations, with a small group of senior executives approving members. Core membership typically covers federal and most state politicians, High Court and federal judges, national newspaper editors, select journalists and celebrities, while companies spending around $1m a year on Qantas flights are likely to receive a rotating membership. He notes the airline once had to strip memberships when numbers grew "out of control", and that senator Jacqui Lambie was banned for six months after an incident in the Melbourne lounge. Joyce insists status cannot be bought and rejects claims of political influence, pointing out Qantas has lost cases in the High Court and Federal Court.