Qantas to create 400 tech jobs with new Adelaide innovation centre
Around 400-plus jobs will be for grabs at a new Adelaide innovation hub to develop AI-powered solutions for everything from baggage tracking to flight disruptions, with the financial help of the Malinauskas government.
Qantas has revealed plans to turn Adelaide into Australia’s aviation AI capital.
It is developing a new innovation centre where a workforce of more than 400 will develop digital tools to improve the customer experience – from baggage tracking and seamless check-in to enhanced app functionality.
Based in the Adelaide CBD, the centre is being supported by the South Australian government and will open in March next year.
It will be home to the airline’s technology product development teams, including its digital experience designers, software engineers, and data and AI specialists.
Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the centre would help transform how customers interacted with the airline by delivering better digital experiences at every stage of the journey.
This would include smarter baggage tracking and AI-powered tools to help when travel does not go to plan.
“Technology and AI is critical to lifting the customer experience at every part of the journey, from booking to in-flight and baggage collection,” Ms Hudson said.
“This new hub will bring the best Australian skilled talent together to build digital products and experiences that make travel easier and more personalised.”
She said Qantas already used AI extensively across its business. For instance, engineers used it for “predictive maintenance” to enhance aircraft reliability, and it was used in flight-path planning and in its corporate sector.
“We have thousands of suppliers within Qantas and we’re using AI to ensure all the terms and conditions in the service agreement are being adhered to,” Ms Hudson said.
“AI and digitisation and technology, we should embrace because it’s going to unlock value for our customers, value for our people, value for our business.”
Existing tech employees at Qantas would be given the opportunity to relocate, but most of the jobs at the innovation centre would be new.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas described the partnership with Qantas as an “historic agreement that would supercharge growth in new highly skilled, high tech jobs”.
The size of the government’s investment was “commercial in confidence” but Mr Malinauskas said it would keep South Australia at the forefront of emerging technologies.
“Through strategic partnerships under this agreement, including the collaboration between Adelaide University and the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, we are building a strong pipeline of talent with advanced AI and digital skillets,” he said.
Deputy vice chancellor of international and external engagement at Adelaide University, Jessica Gallagher, said they shared a “mutual interest” with Qantas in driving innovation and technological advancements, especially in the field of AI.
The partnership with Adelaide University would also mean graduate recruitment pathways directly into the centre, creating opportunities for students to help shape the future of travel.
It comes as Qantas ramps up preparations for its ultra-long-haul Project Sunrise flights, expected to start in the first quarter of 2027.
Connecting cities such as Sydney, New York and London in a single flight, the services have been described as the “final frontier of aviation” with custom-made A350-1000s able to fly for more than 20 hours with a full payload.
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Originally published as Qantas to create 400 tech jobs with new Adelaide innovation centre
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