Qantas chooses Adelaide as technology hub

Qantas has chosen Adelaide as the location for a new technology hub opening next year.

The Australian flag carrier is establishing a new Product Innovation Centre in Adelaide to accelerate the delivery of “intuitive, world-leading digital experiences” for the millions of customers who travel with the airline each year.

The Centre is projected to be home to more than 420 highly-skilled technology roles over the next three years, bringing critical innovation capability in-house, the airline says.

The new purpose-built technology and innovation centre, which is being supported by the South Australian Government, will be based in Adelaide’s CBD and open in March 2026.

It will become the home of the airline’s technology product development teams, where product managers, digital experience designers, software engineers, and data and AI specialists will come together to cha ge how customers interact with Qantas.

Qantas is also partnering with Adelaide University to build graduate recruitment pathways directly into the Centre, creating opportunities for South Australian students to help shape the future of travel.

The centre will enable the airline to bring more critical innovation and technology skills in-house, supporting major initiatives, from the growth of its domestic and international network to new customer experiences and AI tools that help frontline teams serve customers better. 

For customers, Qantas says the centre will help deliver better digital experiences at every stage of the journey. From enhanced app functionality, seamless check-in to smarter baggage tracking. It will also develop AI-powered tools that help when travel doesn’t go to plan.

Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Hudson said the centre would transform how the airline delivers customer experiences.

“Innovation has been a core part of the airline’s DNA for more than 100 years,”Hudson said. “This centre marks a new chapter in our efforts to reimagine the travel experience for the millions of customers who fly with us.

“Technology and AI is critical to lifting the customer experience at every part of the journey, from booking to inflight and baggage collection. This new hub will bring the best Australian skilled talent together to build digital products and experiences that make travel easier and more personalised.

“Adelaide gives us access to world-class universities, a thriving tech community, and the ability to scale our in-house capability. It’s an investment in Australian innovation that will deliver real benefits for our customers.”

South Australian Premier the Hon Peter Malinauskas said:
“This historic agreement with Qantas will help supercharge growth in new highly skilled, high tech jobs.

“Through strategic partnerships under this agreement, including the collaboration between Adelaide University and the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML), we are building a strong pipeline of talent with advanced AI and digital skillsets. 

“This initiative will ensure South Australia remains at the forefront of emerging technologies and future workforce opportunities.”

The new Qantas Product Innovation Centre is the latest in a series of investments by the national carrier in South Australia, including the recently opened lounge precinct at Adelaide Airport and the return of international flights from Adelaide to Auckland which launched earlier this month.

Qantas is fooling no-one with its positive spin

We keep hearing from new Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson about how the Australian flag carrier has turned the corner and is better catering to its customers.

I see no evidence of that.

Arrogance and complacency still rule on the evidence of my most recent flight.

Qantas today reported massive profits, and an intention to buy 20 new aircraft.

Hudson was full of bravado, talking of the airline “spoiling” customers.

“For everyone across the Qantas Group, this year has been all about delivery," she said. "While we are pleased with the progress we are making, we remain focused on further improving our performance and continuing to deliver for our customers, people and shareholders.

“Continuing strong demand across all market segments, combined with our dual brand strategy, helped the Group grow earnings. Qantas and Jetstar carried four million more customers during the year, while our loyalty business grew as frequent flyers engaged with the program more than ever before."

I call bull.

On Tuesday night I had a flight from Melbourne to Hobart with Qantas. I checked in online after arriving from Canada.

After struggling to get the self-service baggage machine to issue a tag, I finally was able to attract the attention of a Qantas staffer - there are no longer many of them around - to resolve the issue.

Then my phone started pinging in the departure lounge.

First message: 19:55 flight pushed back to 20:35. Instructions on how to get a refund, but no apology.

Second message: Flight will now depart at 21:00. This time an apology for the disruption.

Third message: Flight will now depart and 21:20. They look forward to seeing me on board.

The issue was that a flight from Canberra was late. But they started lying. The board showed that boarding was set to start before that flight from the capital had even landed. Clearly wrong. I pointed that out to the staffer at the departure gate. She admitted it was wrong, but it was never corrected.

The new air crew for the flight - obviously used to delays - hung around laughing and joking. No sign of a serious apology. No offer of a meal voucher. No compensation. Handing out some bottles of water? No chance.

It is as if staff have been formally instructed not to apologise for failures.

There were some free cheese and biscuits during the flight. Thanks guys!

The work ethic at Qantas appears to be as rotten as its defences against Cyber attacks, no matter what PR spin the highly-paid Ms Hudson seeks to put on it.

We finally took off just in time to land in Hobart as the airport was closing. There were still some cleaners around. And, fortunately, the baggage handlers had not checked off.

My Qantas experience came after four long-haul (12+ hour sectors) with Qatar Airways. All of those were early, or on time, and the air crew solicitous despite the flights being full.

Qantas is being left behind by global rivals but apparently doesn't realise it.

And it often escapes scrutiny because a lot of travel writers want to stay on the free flights bandwagon and will ignore its many faults.

Such a shame. It used to offer a great product and top-notch service.

I'm sure the shareholders are happy with the record profits. We plebs just better get used to the falling standards.

UPDATE: Unions representing over 30,000 Qantas employees have condemned the airline’s corporate greed, saying the $2.4 billion underlying profit margin is built on the back of an underpaid, disrespected workforce, and it’s long overdue workers received their fair share.

Six unions, including the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), Australian Workers’ Union (AWU), the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), the Australian Services Union (ASU) and the Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia (FAAA) say the 28% leap in net profits come in the face of illegal sackings, threats to workers, cruel bargaining tactics, and a blanket refusal to negotiate fairly.

Time and time again, Qantas shows consistently how it puts profits before people and where the company’s true priorities lie. Its appalling track record of price gouging and phantom flights towards its customers is equally reflected towards its workforce.

Last week, Qantas was fined a historic $90 million for illegally outsourcing 1,800 ground workers, and was criticised by judge Michael Lee as an “aggressive” company driven by greed. Qantas employees were sent an apology by Hudson, claiming the airline was‘committed to building a workplace where workers feel supported, respected, and valued’. 

Just one day later, in bargaining with the Qantas Engineers’ Alliance (made up of the AMWU, AWU and ETU), Qantas threatened to remove the back pay of more than a thousand engineering workers, sending through a rejected offer back to vote. 

Qantas engineers remain the lowest paid in their industry, having experienced multiple wage freezes over the years. Qantas engineers are fighting to have their skills behind Qantas’ world-leading safety record valued and recognised.

Similarly, thousands of ASU members in Qantas’ service sector remain one of the lowest paid at the airline. Workers across check-in, call centres and freight operations have been seeking structural changes at Qantas to address pay disparity for its largely feminised services-orientated workforce. Meanwhile, thousands of FAAA members working in cabin crew have been locked in bargaining.

Rep rehab: Qantas outlines planned improvements

The beleaguered Qantas Group has signalled a series of planned improvements to its service standards as new CEO Vanessa Hudson gets her teeth into the role after succeeding unpopular Alan Joyce.

Qantas will invest a further $80 million in customer improvements across the financial year 2024 in addition to the $150 million previously budgeted, which will be funded from profits, the airline said in a statement issued today.

The additional investment is aimed at addressing a number of customer ‘pain points’ through improvements such as better contact centre resourcing and training, an increase in the number seats that can be redeemed with Frequent Flyer points, more generous recovery support when operational issues arise, a review of longstanding policies for fairness and improvements to the quality of in-flight catering, the statement said.

Qantas is also working to accelerate some initiatives already underway, such as the re-platforming of the Qantas app.

Qantas and Jetstar expect to carry more than 4 million passengers over the September/October school holidays and football finals period on almost 35,000 domestic and international services.

This compares with around 3.7 million passengers on approximately 28,000 services over the same four week period last year.

New aircraft deliveries and wet-leasing arrangements will help Qantas and Jetstar boost international capacity by 12 percentage points by the end of the calendar year – an increase of almost 50 additional flights a week.

This includes Qantas resuming its Sydney-Shanghai services and starting two new routes, Brisbane-Wellington and Brisbane-Honiara, as well as a new Jetstar service from Brisbane to Tokyo.

Image: Qantas 

Joyce to step down; Qantas names new boss

Under-fire Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is to stand down in November and will be replaced by current CFO Vanessa Hudson (above).

The Qantas Group said today that Hudson will become the CEO and managing director.

Although low profile, Hudson has worked in a number of executive positions across the Qantas group over 28 years, including Chief Customer Officer and senior vice president for Qantas across the Americas and New Zealand.

Hudson will continue in her current role while also being CEO designate and joining the board, before taking over as the company’s 13th CEO in 103 years following the 2023 Annual General Meeting, Qantas said in a statement.

Chairman Richard Goyder said the appointment came after a rigorous selection process and allows for a smooth transition from Joyce, who is popular with shareholders but less so with customers.

"A lot of thought has gone into this succession and the Board had a number of high-quality candidates to consider, both internally and externally," Gowder said.

“Vanessa has a deep understanding of this business after almost three decades in a range of roles both onshore and offshore, across commercial, customer and finance. She has a huge amount of airline experience and she’s an outstanding leader.

“For the past five years Vanessa has had a direct hand in shaping our strategy as a member of the Group Management Committee, and her handling of the finance and treasury portfolio during the Covid crisis was outstanding. She also led the fleet selection process in 2022 for the renewal of our domestic jet aircraft over the next decade.

“A key strength of Qantas is the sheer depth of talent it has, and Vanessa will be supported by a deep bench of executives across the organisation as well as by the board.”

Hudson said: “It’s an absolute honour to be asked to lead the national carrier. This is an exceptional company full of incredibly talented people and it’s very well positioned for the future. My focus will be delivering for those we rely on and who rely on us – our customers, our employees, our shareholders and the communities we serve.”

Joyce spent 15 years as Qantas Group CEO.

Image: Qantas