Qantas boss Alan Joyce has laughed off getting a pie shoved in his face while speaking at a business breakfast in Perth, saying his biggest issue is finding a decent drycleaner.

Mr Joyce was the keynote speaker at a West Business Leadership Matters event at the Hyatt Regency on Tuesday morning when a man appeared on stage with a pie.

The man then grabbed the Qantas CEO before shoving the pie in his face and casually walking off stage.

Late on Tuesday afternoon police released a statement to say the 67-year-old man from Willetton would face court via summons over the incident on a charge of giving false details to police.

Alan Joyce had a pie thrust in his face. Lucas Jarvis

"The incident occurred at approximately 8:15am this morning when the victim was struck to the face with a pie while speaking at a conference," police said.

Inquiries are continuing into the matter.

Mr Joyce, who later in the morning was at Perth Airport for the launch of Qantas' multi-million-dollar international wing for Terminal 3 and 4, which will allow non-stop flights from Perth to London, shrugged of the pie-throwing incident.

"I have been CEO of Qantas now for close to nine years and it was a new experience and I haven't experienced that before," he told reporters.

"Obviously we were there for a serious event to talk about the Perth to London operation.

"I think when you have been a CEO of an airline for nine years there is a lot that has happened over that time.

This is different but it is not unusual...it is an unusual event certainly but things like this have happened in the past."

The Irish-born Australian businessman said he did not know what the pie-thrower's motive was.

"Obviously the police are investigating and I think that should be subject to that investigation," he said.

The 50-year-old joked he could not identify the flavour of the pie.

"I have absolutely no idea - I'm not a big pie eater," he said.

"I didn't have a chance to test it, it was mostly on my glasses.

"I think my issue is I need a new drycleaner before I leave Perth, so if you have one could you please recommend it to me."

The West Australian business editor Ben Harvey told Gareth Parker's Mornings program the incident caught everyone by surprise.

"It was a very bizarre situation... it appeared to be a lemon meringue pie," he said on Radio 6PR.

"It seems to be he was making some sort of political statement but we don't know what that statement is.

"He (Joyce) dealt with it very very well. For a man that's cool under pressure he proved that very much today.

"He looked at everyone and very calmly said 'well, I'm not sure what that's all about, but I'm going to have to get cleaned up'.

"He walked off stage and then returned a few minutes later to a warm applause and continued his speech."

Mr Harvey said the the pie attacker was in his late 60s or early 70s and was now being interviewed by police in relation to the incident.

Police confirmed they had been "called to a hotel on Adelaide Terrace, East Perth in relation to an assault incident."

And that they currently had one person in custody.