Qantas’ Float At Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras To Honour Luke Davies

Qantas’s Mardi Gras float in Saturday’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade on Oxford Street will pay tribute to its employee Luke Davies.

Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies and his boyfriend former TV presenter Jesse Baird were allegedly murdered by  NSW Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon on February 19, 2024. 

 Davies previously worked for Tiger Air and Virgin Australia and joined Qantas in Brisbane in 2022, before he moved to Sydney last year. 

A Qantas spokesperson confirmed that the airline and its staff planned to pay tribute to Davies at the parade. Davies’ name would reportedly be added prominently on the side of the Qantas float.

Lamarre-Condon was charged with the murders of Baird and Davies and is accused of shooting them dead with his police-issued hand gun at Baird’s home in Paddington, Sydney. The couple’s remains were found at a property at Bungonia, near Goulburn, around 185 kilometres south of Sydney on February 27, 2024. 

Qantas’ Executive Manager Cabin Crew Leeanne Langridge in a statement said that Davies “was a much-loved member of the Qantas cabin crew community in Brisbane and Sydney.

“He had a passion for travel, life, his family and friends and the customers that he served. He will be deeply missed. The whole team at Qantas are thinking of Luke and Jesse’s loved ones,” Lanridge said. 

Our Friend, Jesse Baird

Tributes were also paid to Baird, by his former Channel 10 colleagues. 

“It is hard to talk about Jesse in the past tense because he was more than just a colleague, he was our friend … a little brother,” The Project host Sarah Harris said on the show, choking up when she spoke about him. 

Harris said Baird was “one of those kids who had a big smile, big talent and even bigger heart.”

Beverley McGarvey, head of Paramount+ and Paramount ANZ, recalled Baird’s  “genuine kindness, warmth and sincerity. “It became clear he was destined for great things. His positive attitude, charisma and charm was effortless. The camera loved him and so did everyone he worked with – animals and humans alike,” said McGarvey.  “It’s incredibly sad for all of us who had the privilege of knowing Jesse.”

Baird who also had a career as an AFL Umpire was remembered by his colleagues as a “popular and respected member of our AFL umpiring family”. 

Baird began umpiring in AFL matches in the Northern Football and Netball League. He moved to Queensland in 2017 and made his debut on the AFL umpiring list in 2020.

“Jesse was more than a colleague, he was a loved friend who I cherished. I loved umpiring with him and being around him. As a young goal umpire, he always provided great positivity to the team in the change rooms and he was very talented on and off the field,” AFL Umpire and close friend Brett Rosebury said in a statement. 

“Jesse will be fondly remembered for his vibrant, fun-loving personality, his professionalism and his commitment to the next generation of young umpires through his mentorship of State League umpires, most importantly he will be remembered for the great, caring person that he was,” said AFL CEO Andrew Dillon. 

According to ACON, there was a “lot of sadness and grief in our community at the moment” over Baird and Davies’ tragic deaths. 

A community vigil is being organised to honour Baird and Davies’ lives with support from the couple’s family and friends. The vigil will be held on Friday, March 1, 2023, at 6.30 pm at Green Park, Darlinghurst.