For Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, speaking up on marriage equality is personal. But the airline's public support of same-sex marriage has been good for business, too, he says – and now has earned him the highest civilian honour in the country.

As part of the Queen's Birthday honours appointments, the 50-year old airline executive has been made a companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia.

He was awarded the honour for his "eminent service to the aviation transport industry, to the development of the national and international tourism sectors, to gender equity, inclusion and diversity, and to the community, particularly as a supporter of Indigenous education".

Joyce, who moved to Australia from Ireland in 1996 and became an Australian citizen in 2003, said he was "truly honoured by this award, which also recognises the work of thousands of people who make Qantas an institution that Australians can rightly be proud of".