How Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson is burying the woke elitism of predecessor Alan Joyce
18 months into the role of Qantas CEO, Vanessa Hudson is still trying to distance the airline from the woke elitism of predecessor Alan Joyce. How is she faring?
Business
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It should come as no surprise that Vanessa Hudson spends a good deal of time on planes as part of her role as Qantas CEO – what is surprising is that it’s not always at the pointy end.
On the day The Australian spoke to her, Hudson had just addressed an Airbus summit on sustainable travel in Toulouse before hopping on a flight to London to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Qantas’ UK base.
With most flights full, Hudson opted for a seat on a Ryanair flight, famous for its no frills operation.
“Steph Tully (Jetstar CEO) has given me a checklist of things to report back on,” she laughed.
Since becoming Qantas CEO at a difficult time for the airline in September 2023, Hudson has made a point of travelling in economy on domestic flights.
It’s a move many might view as designed to distance Hudson from her controversial predecessor Alan Joyce, whose name became synonymous with woke elitism.
She insists it’s no strategy, it’s just who she is.
“I think being authentic is a really important part of my leadership, and being someone who is accessible, who visits cockpits, who stands in galleys, who sits in economy and talks to customers, I think that makes me a better leader because I am listening more to everyone around me,” she said.
“A reflection I have is that many of the staff have said to me (is that) there’s a big gap between senior leadership and the front line, and actually in moments where you are standing in a cabin or a cockpit or a galley, there’s no gap and I think you’ve got to create as many opportunities to be in those moments.”
In a company as large as Qantas with a workforce of 27,000 people, Hudson says listening is a big part of the job, and by that she means not just to her leadership team.
“I love my leadership team, I trust them enormously but you can’t just listen to those voices. You’ve got to listen to multiple layers within the organisation,” she says.
“So I also do ‘skip level’ meetings where I sit down and have coffee with the leaders that report to my leadership team. It’s just about keeping your finger on the pulse of the organisation and having your ears open to everyone.”
Another strategy Hudson has employed to create the “best possible environment” for employees is to schedule pilots and cabin crew domestically with the one aircraft.
It means the same team works on the same aircraft throughout their shift, whereas in the past they would be scheduled “more broadly across a network”.
“When I sit down with them and listen to the feedback they say ‘it’s actually fantastic because over a day we’re a team and we’re with the aircraft we know’,” says Hudson.
“By the end of the day they’re loving it, they’re really loving it.”
She knows happy people generally means happy customers – a mantra straight out of the playbook of rival Virgin Australia which is positioned to become a greater threat after selling a 25 per cent stake to Qatar Airways.
Hudson reveals she has never met new Virgin CEO Dave Emerson, but insists she welcomes the prospect of a more competitive domestic rival.
“I think competition actually makes us better and that’s what our mantra is – lean into the competition and use it to drive that spirit to be better for our customers and people because we should never be entitled,” Hudson says.
“I really want to see Virgin successful. I think they’ve done a great job in coming out of administration and I wish them and (Emerson) the best of luck in their new partnership.”
With more new narrow body aircraft arriving in coming months, and planning continuing for ambitious Project Sunrise flights, Hudson was feeling quietly confident Qantas would retain its crown as the international carrier of choice for Australians.
Latest international airline activity statistics showed Qantas carried 16.6 per cent of travellers in and out of Australia in 2024, and low fares partner Jetstar another 11.9 per cent.
Singapore Airlines was the third biggest carrier with 9 per cent of the market, followed by Air New Zealand (7 per cent) and Emirates on 5.9 per cent. Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia were sixth and seventh on 3.6 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively.
Asked what areas still needed work, Hudson was quick to nominate on-time performance and cancellations, customer service and access to Wi-Fi on overseas flights.
“We’re spending a lot of time with our people, with our cabin crew talking to them about how every minute matters, and empowering frontline staff to be able to solve things more quickly on the spot,” she says.
“We haven’t put technology in the hands of our people as quickly as I think we should have, so we’ve got plans to do that.”
Wi-Fi would finally roll out on A330s operating to Asia in coming weeks, with other widebody aircraft to follow.
As one of the few premium international airlines not to offer a Wi-Fi service, Hudson recognised it was a weakness although some customers were grateful for the chance to “switch off”.
“I think it’s just having that ear to the feedback from customers – positive and negative – to make sure that the things that you’ve got in the pipeline going forward are the things that matter most.”
The writer was a guest of Airbus and Qantas in Toulouse.
Originally published as How Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson is burying the woke elitism of predecessor Alan Joyce
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