Vanessa Hudson

CEO

Qantas Group

1. Can you tell us a bit about your journey and where your career has taken you?
I have been fortunate to have several careers in one organisation having spent more than 30 years at the Qantas Group. I started in audit after joining from Deloitte and have had incredible opportunities in that time in a range of different areas. I gained valuable horizontal experience in a number of roles across sales, marketing, customer, operations and network and also spent time in the US. Being in the role of CFO during the pandemic also taught me a lot about leading through ambiguity and the power of trusting in your team.

2. What does a typical day look like for you and what are you currently working on?
One of the most important aspects in my role as CEO is spending time with our people. I prioritise getting out and connecting with our teams in the flight deck, the galley, at the airport and in our hangars across Australia and the world. If you're travelling through an airport with me, it takes about an hour to get through because I stop and talk to everyone in a Qantas or Jetstar uniform. My focus is on building a greater sense of belonging and pride across our workforce and ensuring Qantas remains a great place to work no matter what role you are in.

I am also very focused on the significant investments we are making in improving the customer experience including through our historic fleet renewal program. We're investing billions of dollars in hundreds of next generation aircraft which will change how Australians travel. In fact, we have 214 aircraft joining our fleet over the next decade.

3. How would you define your leadership qualities?
I see you, I hear you, and what you say matters to me - these are my three fundamentals. Being collaborative - this is not a one woman show, it's about bringing teams together and leaning on the expertise of others to achieve great things. Being decisive yet empathetic in being able to make tough calls while acknowledging the human impact in every decision. And finally I believe humility is critical - if you think you're the smartest person in the room, you'll come unstuck.
 
4. What are you most proud of in your career?
I would say there are many moments when I look back but being a part of transforming the Qantas culture and diversifying our pipeline of talent is up there. We now have 40 per cent women in senior leadership roles. This demonstrates to the next generation, particularly young women looking at careers in aviation, that they can achieve this. Finally, the moments when we step up in times of crisis - flying into challenging situations to bring people home. It is a critical role we play as the national carrier.

5. What is on your wish list for your next five years from here?
In the role of CEO, we've got a lot to do. It's a very exciting period ahead of us. First and foremost, I want to make sure that we are always listening and delivering for our customers and our people, because they are at the core of who we are and what we do. We are also continuing on our journey of renewing our fleet. It's the biggest fleet renewal in our history and over the next five years, it’s going to be a significant step change for us, from where we are today, to having most of our narrow body fleet replaced for both Qantas and Jetstar. Within the next five years we will also see Project Sunrise become a reality connecting Australians with direct flights from the East Coast of Australia to London and New York. And finally continuing our focus and drive for sustainable aviation and delivering against our targets, which is incredibly important for us because we care about the impact that we have on the environment, and we know we're a hard-to-abate industry. But something being hard doesn't mean that you don't try.

6. Having assumed the leadership role at Qantas, what are your current priorities for the business?
It’s about striking the right balance between making sure the business is healthy and profitable, delivering for our customers and delivering for our people, and also our shareholders. And that's a constant challenge that balance from year to year, because you've got competitive forces, you've got things that are outside of your control that may impact you, whether it be foreign currency or whether it be fuel. But we are in a great position as Qantas Group. We've got amazing dual brands with Qantas and Jetstar and we've got one of the world's best frequent flyer programs. We're starting from a place of strength, and it's why it gives us so much optimism about the future. But we will never become complacent. We will never become entitled and making sure that we always deliver to our customers is going to be central to everything that we do going forward.

7. What are the biggest challenges for the aviation industry ahead?
There are a few challenges we face as an industry going forward. Firstly, the availability and cost of sustainable aviation fuel – currently the price of SAF is projected to remain two to three times higher than jet fuel until 2030. Air traffic demand is also projected to double by 2042, making decarbonisation more challenging. Secondly supply chain disruptions and aircraft delivery delays from manufacturers remains a challenge for all airlines, but we are in a good position with 214 aircraft arriving over the next decade. There are workforce shortages across the industry, particularly in technical roles, but as the largest aviation training provider in Australia we continue to put a lot of focus on opportunities for the next generation of aviators and ensuring diversity in our talent pipeline.

8. What are the biggest opportunities for the aviation industry ahead?
For the first time, traveller numbers will exceed five billion globally in 2025 which shows continued strong demand for air travel. Fleet renewal with next generation aircraft will offer 20-25% better fuel efficiency per seat on like-for-like routes and the ability to open up new routes on long range aircraft like the A321XLR. Project Sunrise will be a historic moment in aviation offering non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York in early 2027. We are very excited about this in bringing the world even closer for Australians and enabling first of its kind global connectivity. Innovations like these new aircraft and new routes also support continued growth in jobs and careers for our people and the wider economy. Finally sustainable aviation fuel production at scale is a huge opportunity in Australia we have the right feedstock here to create a thriving industry and thousands of jobs and economic growth as part of that. However, we need partnerships across industries and with Government in order to achieve that.

9. Do you think traditional airline alliances still have relevance in today's aviation landscape?
Absolutely - alliances remain crucial for providing customers with global connectivity and choice. They allow us to offer seamless travel experiences to destinations we don't serve directly. But airline alliances need to evolve - customers expect more integrated digital experiences when they fly. The Oneworld alliance has been valuable for Qantas in offering our customers global reach and we continue to look to balance alliance benefits with direct partnerships and our own network growth.