MELBOURNE, March 23, 2009 (AFP) - Australian airline Qantas is planning to slash 100 senior executive jobs in response to the slump in global air travel, a report said Monday.

The move would also allow recently appointed chief executive Alan Joyce to stamp his authority on the country's largest airline, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing unnamed senior sources at Qantas.

It said the job losses, to be announced in coming weeks, came on top of the 1,500 positions Qantas announced it would scrap last July.

The airline refused to comment on the report.

A number of key executives have already left the company, including the head of engineering David Cox and chief financial officer Peter Gregg.

Joyce was appointed as chief executive in November last year after five years running the airline's budget offshoot Jetstar.