Very Impressed With Alan Joyce

[MyerFlyer]

Hi all,

Ok Ok I know its early days but I have to say I am very impressed with AJ recent interviews and statements.

Bringing all offshore Maintainance including QF/JQ A330 work back to OZ. Admitting that Engineering's purpose is not to make money or offer returns but to repair and maintain the fleet.

Said he is getting the company into postion to take advantage of the good times when they return.

He even despite all the doom and gloom talks the company up (something that never used to happen) He particually talked up mainline QF!!!!!!!!!!!

Interesting times ahead.....

[Qantas 787]

Agree - I have always been impressed with him but even in the bad news this week, I am more convinced the right decision has been made.

A Dixon clone.........he certainly is not that. He obviously has learnt a lot from Dixon but is making his own decisions on how to run the business (reversing the segmentation for starters). He is always very positive despite the current climate we are in and that in itself can be good for the morale of staff.

[EchoNovemberTango]

Bringing all offshore Maintainance including QF/JQ A330 work back to OZ. Admitting that Engineering's purpose is not to make money or offer returns but to repair and maintain the fleet.

Great start indeed... hopefully more will begin returning.....:ok:

[firepussy]

Mr. Joyce please close down the LHR base.
It s jobs for Australians in Australia during these tough times
Just remember Mr. Joyce the Poms have never done much for the Irish

[Jabawocky]

I know some on here will choke at the thought of it but maybe this guy is someone you can get shoulder to shoulder with and support.

Surely does seem to have a totally different approach to that :mad:wit that was there before!

He certainy handled the ABC interview far better than GD would have.

J:ok:

[iriver88]

a somewhat chubbish fair skin youngish man with a totally different accent does not look irritating as a wrinkled old fried tofu that looks aggressive, Studies have shown that young chubbish fair skin man in positions of authority is somewhat liked.

[ditch handle]

Quote-

"the Poms have never done much for the Irish"
___________

Yes, remember the potato famine Mr Joyce ?

[flyingfox]

I think long term Qantas people should cooperate with Alan Joyce in steering Qantas into a leaner and more dynamic operation. Doing so will achieve a better overall outcome than vigorously fighting every change he suggests and falling into the JQ vs QF quagmire. QF deserves to thrive as a quality airline, but won't do so without some meaningful change. (You need to get the government onside as well to deal with the tilted international playing field.) I don't see Alan Joyce as a GD clone and he should be listened to in a positive light. He seems to talk business and is not focused on staff bashing. If you think he is wrong at any time then offer him meaningful alternative plans. By the way, I've no personal interests in QF and am not an employee.

[time4change]

I hear from friends In JQ they wish AJ was still the boss, they seem far from impressed with the new guy, it seems the new base in Auck with the shocking conditions has gone too far for many hopefully AJ will step in before all his good work is destroyed.

[ZK-NSJ]

is it just me, or does everyone else think its pretty convienent that qantas has hit the skids just after dixon has left........., sure the financial environment is not good but all the years of running it into the ground are finally starting to show.

[pigdriver]

time4change, Thats not what I have heard from many JQ mates. Most say the new bloke will be good overtime. Yes, the recent pilot moves were handled very badly, but he acknowledged it, and they are trying to fix it as best they can. The Akl thing was always going to be on lesser terms, as all the kiwi jobs pay less then oz, and lets face it, it is now better then jetconnect and pacblue conditions, so not saying I agree or would work for them, they are afterall paying ever so slightly above the other mobs there!!??( excluding scare new zealand).....
Give the new guy 12months before jumping to conclusions.

[Unphased]

The missing link is action in support of the words.

If the Qantas Group is to prosper and not be dead in six months as some who write for the Telegraph seem to think, then the following post lifted from the thread, (Qantas will be dead in 6 months (http://www.pprune.org/d-g-reporting-points/370189-qantas-will-dead-6-months.html)), is as good as any other litmus test able to distil action from rhetoric.

How myopic his (Harberson’s) view is won’t be known until the Qantas Group actually revokes proposed crewing of its Trans Tasman operations with New Zealand based pilots.

Doesn’t really matter if it is the old guard or the new guard who fix up the cock up ,but unless someone does, the Qantas Group will struggle to go the distance.

Best of luck.

[Thylacine]

When Alan Joyce was interviewed by the online newsletter Business Spectator - Reading Joyce - Alan Kohler (http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Reading-Joyce-pd20090420-R9S3F?OpenDocument&src=kgb) it was done at Building A in Coward Street Mascot – rather than the swank new Deutsche Bank building in Hunter Street.

He is also removing 500 managers from Qantas. This is an astonishing number. It says that despite a reputation for toughness and cost control, Geoff Dixon had excessive layers of management and in some ways was not a good manager at all.

Of interest was Alan Kohler’s comment regarding a senior Qantas pilot he spoke to at the weekend who had reported that all of the airline’s pilots are enthusiastic about the cultural change that Alan Joyce is bringing with him. He said he would be prepared to take a pay cut if it was clearly for the good of the company (no pilot would ever have done that for Dixon, he says).

The pilot said they always knew there were too many managers at Qantas, and that Geoff Dixon had allowed a seat-warming culture to develop; removing 500 managers is a clear acknowledgement of that by the company.

The engineers have been as unhappy as the pilots; the IT systems are dysfunctional; Qantas’s reputation for on-time performance is appalling (even though, as Joyce says, the actual performance has picked up lately).

The main task, which Alan Joyce obviously understands, is to change the culture at a company that has become arrogant, complacent and over-staffed.”

[teresa green]

He is doing ok in a sh$t of a job, time will tell if he worth the money, but something tells me he is, as I said time will tell.

[ditch handle]

Having spoken to him onboard I can confirm that he is, in person, most engaging. Took time out to have words with the crew and spoke openly of where he was going and why. This in itself says much about the man and even more about his reptilian predecessor.

His forthright comments about the need to re-engage the Engineers bodes well for the company and it's other operational staff who [under dickson] became used to be being treated by his management, like the enemy.

Despite myself I can't help but feel that Qantas has the opportunity to return to what it once was.

A cohesive, functional company with engaged staff actively working towards common goals.

[Keg]

Whilst I'm cautiously optimistic about AJ at the moment, I'll wait until I see a bit more of the QF/JQ plan before I offer to hand back any of my pay! :eek: :ok:

[waren9]

Fair enough Keg, so would I.

Are there any rumblings amongst guys who might be crewing those 10 aircraft about taking their JQ MOU spots?

Not a dig. Just a question.

[Peter Brady]

Agree AJ was very impressive in his interview showing great empathy for the situation, yet remaining positive and sending all the right messages. Yet i would caution that just as one swallow does not make the summer, one interview does not maketh the man.

[employes perspective]

talk is cheap,lets see if he reopens H245 to Heavy Maint,he knows Qantas has an image problem at the moment with its aircraft maintenance,so he is just telling people what they want to hear,this should get the media off his back for a little while,remember this man has worked with Dixon,don't think that a little of the lizard king hasn't rubbed off on the poor man.....

[Dragun]

Yea talk is cheap. At this stage there however, there is no reason to show that he's not going to do as he says and that at least is a start.

If we as employees believe in what he is saying and start to have a little faith, then that in itself is the first step towards improving overall morale and the current lack of engagement across the group.

Here's hoping.

[bogdantheturnipboy]

I am in shock.
An airline thread with positive comments on pprune.
I thought it must have been against the rules!

[blow.n.gasket]

Ah yes Peter Brady ,true words indeed.
I however thought a swallow does in fact make a night!:ok:

[Peter Brady]

Ah yes. Can't help but agree. Not sure that AJ's into that tho!;)

[blow.n.gasket]

The King is dead ,long live the Queen.:uhoh:

[the rim]

yes i have said before on here that i was impressed with AJ's talk in the big house in brisbane on his roadshow with our new boss LS and am giving him time before making a further comment but with all this happening around us now and no comment from our managers leads to us thinking that they have not got a clue whats going on ....please tell us something even if its ....we are still working on the final blueprint....no comment from our bosses leads us to dispair,....so stick your head in and say hello we might bite it off but at least you show up

[BrissySparkyCoit]

Hey rim, come and see me in the big house tomorow and I'll give you a bag of punctuation!

:ok:

[ER_ZZZ]

So how can suing the union be engaging the engineer's ?

Surely there has to be more to this....

[max autobrakes]

I thought it was the TWU being taken on?
Isn't that the baggage lads?

[mcgrath50]

Wow, great to hear positive stuff on Pprune, if it is positive here the airline must thinks it's amazing!

Good luck to AJ

[benjam]

:=This forum is for those who bleat and whinge about management irrespective of whatt they do/say. Get off and let the real pilots back on!

[ozangel]

Breaking News

'End of World approaches!'
NT Newspaper 23.04.2009 18:53

-Pilots Praise Alan Joyce
-Jetstar Cessna 727 crashes in croc infested suburban pool
-Virgin Blue still operating
-Archerfield is still an airport
-Ozjet (who? oh, didnt they collapse? no, wow?) what?

The CSIRO is leading a world first investigation into a series of unusual and dramatic events occuring within the aviation industry.

A committee of aviation professionals led by Dirk Smythe, commissioned by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned the safety of air travellers world wide is being compromised by the possible end of the world.

"It's just incredbile" said chairman Dirk Smyth. "What next, an increase in sales for my australian made Dirk Bikes, or my monthly lesbian dance party 'Dirk Night'?"

Cheryl Taylor, receptionist for the CSIRO said their labs had seen a flurry of panic not seen since the Cat Flu of 2008, or the Mad Goldfish disease outbreak of 2007. "Maureen (the other receptionist) and I have been pretty worried hey!"

****

[Flugbegleiter]

As you can see from the positive comments in this thread, Qantas staff posting on this website are not just whingers, complaining for the sake of complaining. Maybe it's possible that we actually had justifiable reasons to complain before. We have known for a long time that Qantas was not being run well, despite what that arrogant former management team told the public. In so many departments, rather than being assisted to do our jobs, we were hindered.

Even with the gloomy prospect of 1750 job losses, I feel more positive about working for Qantas today than I have in over 6 years. Dixon created a terrible, negative, fearful culture. By 2008, very few Qantas staff could say they were proud to work for this once great airline. Maybe things will change now. Time will tell...

[aviator's_anonymous]

Was it true that AJ, when back with JQ, would send a weekly recorded message out to all staff / manangers on their mobiles explaining the week past? I reckon that's really cool if he did, keeping communication up within the company. Does anyone know if he still does this with QF?

[ozangel]

I truly couldnt think of anything worse. Most of those random messages on the phone from the airline arrive at 3am.

Dont know about Joyce, but really, would you want Brett Godfrey on your mobile at 3am shouting "HI GANG!! TIMES ARE TOUGH, BUT...."

[BrissySparkyCoit]

Agree with Flugbegleiter! (We must have beers sometime... it's been a while)!

I recall a colleague talking to our manager of poor morale once in a metting last year. I remember saying

"Gerry, how can we ever improve the morale when the CEO has absolutely nothing positive to say in relation to Qantas staff"?

I keep saying it, I am very optomistic about Alan Joyce. He appears to be intent on fixing the bad relationship between staff and management. (So far!)

[Walter E Kurtz]

A J is an Ass Jockey.

Qantas staff are just the horse of the day.

[ditch handle]

Could he be any worse than dickson?

[teresa green]

Walter, thats over the top, most people don't care if the bloke sh$gs elephants, he is actually trying to get QF back to straight and level after years of being in a spiral dive with GD, give the bloke a break and a chance, he is showing signs of actually communicating with the staff (of which most won't know how to handle after years of being treated like sh%t) if he bats for both sides who cares, who would want to walk in his shoes, very few of us, give him a go.

[muffman]

TG:

:ok:

Well said.

[blow.n.gasket]

The King is dead, long live the Queen.:ok:

[Mr.Buzzy]

We talking about "FLIP" here? ....... Little Irish .......

bbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Quill Shaft]

Even with the gloomy prospect of 1750 job losses, I feel more positive about working for Qantas today than I have in over 6 years.

Have to agree, I have heard AJ speak about employee re-engagement, reversing business segmentation, reducing the management layers to speed up the decision making process, union consultation to minimise job losses etc:

I had my doubts about AJ at first as it appeared GD picked AJ to succeed him, but now I feel he is at least saying the right things and providing a glimmer of hope... Fingers Crossed

[QFinsider]

When Oldmeadow consulting is no longer on the books I will be more inclined to believe that he is not merely dixon lite. To date he merely SAYS alot of the motherhood stuff and already pilots and other forget he was employed by Dixon to run the industrial wedge at J*. He has forged ahead with the J*/Jit connect trans tasman wedge..Nothing has really changed....:suspect:

[busdriver007]

I have to agree with QFinsider on this. I see Ian Oldmeadow is front and centre with Joyce as well. These people have driven the wedge and this has damaged the Company. How to make great airline average. Employ consultants that don't give stuff if the airline has good morale or even survives, Oldmeadow will walk away and take the money. Joyce is just a smiling Dixon.

[-438]

Dixon has short man syndrome.
Joyce got the job because he was the shortest candidate on the short list. He always looked up to Dixon.

[1746]

Maybe, maybe not!

Until it is proved otherwise let's just hope he can display LEADERSHIP, a value which has been sadly missing from this once great airline!

Everyone should give the guy a fair chance and then judge him on the results.

After all, actions say more than words!

[QFinsider]

1746...

That is my point.. He says all the right things, panders to the media.
His policy actions are much different. Jetconnect is not any different to the Oldmeadow playbook. Jetstar lite is exactly the same and ordered on his watch.

Give him a fair go, for sure, when his actions match his words. Lots of things require fixing he has been left a mess. His actions to date particularly with the IR wedge provided by Oldmeadow would tend to support the notion more of the same..What astounds me is how ready people are to assume with a few fluffy words that this guys is;

a) Different than Dixon

b) Knows what he is doing.

[qf 1]

so has H245 opened yet to HM

[BrissySparkyCoit]

What astounds me is how ready people are to assume with a few fluffy words that this guys is... blah blahWhat astounds me is how ready people are to dismiss him after just six months of which most are during a major financial crisis.

Dixon was just like Peter Costello. How did Keating put it, he spent his time swaying in the hammock.

Fluffy words? Hmmm hasn't he aboloshed most of the ridiculous segmentation and leaned out the fat from managment? Fluffy words huh?