Jetstar CEO Interview

[neville_nobody]

Abbreviated interview with the new Jetstar CEO talking about her move into the role and how she plans to balance work and family, and how she wants more women in the engineering and pilot ranks.

The family thing whilst a move in the right direction is probably in the wrong industry. Aviation is 24/7/365 and I take it that the work flexibility won't be extended to those at the coalface. Given that Jetstar pilots have been bounced around the country on the whim of an accountant it will be interesting to see how this stuff will be received given many of us make numerous family sacrifices to be in this industry.

tv.afr.com - Video - - The Australian Financial Review (http://tv.afr.com/video/channel/103/240382?play=1#/260806)

[gordonfvckingramsay]

God help us if she is one of those compulsory male/female ratio types. The only thing that achieves is women being hired to make up numbers; very demeaning. There are hundreds of incredible women pilots who are woking so hard to be recognised for their ability and professionalism, who will have the rug pulled out from under them if they become part of some ratio.

As for lifestyle, well she needs to spend a few weeks in the life of aircrew to see how much of a lifestyle wrecker her airline is. I hope she has the ticker to face the facts, lead by example and address the lifestyle issues of her employees as well as her own. :ok:

[AEROMEDIC]

The family thing whilst a move in the right direction is probably in the wrong industry. Aviation is 24/7/365 and I take it that the work flexibility won't be extended to those at the coalface.

That's right. That's what she negotiated from the start with Joyce. If what she says is true, then she will be relying heavily on others to pick up the slack at the times she picks and chooses for family reasons.
While this is VERY fortunate, and I have to say commendable to put the family first, it clearly shows the lack of judgement Joyce has when selecting a CEO for Jetstar.
I don't think this is a "must have a woman" thing or a control thing. I think it shows Joyce's decision making process is continually flawed at critical times. There MUST have been other candidates with their hand up for this that were equally skilled and able to provide more commitment.
He gave her a couple of months to think about heading up an organisation, meaning "I have plans for you" and then offered her the big one knowing her limitations due to family commitments. Even waited for her to talk it over with her husband whose predictable response was "What! you didn't take it straight away!
I don't think that there are many jobs in this world that you can show self doubt at the interview and still get the job.
On the surface,I think that she is capable of doing a great job of CEO if she was more committed, but if she wasn't prepared to make the sacrifices and at least turn up for the Roadshow presentation, then less than 100% is not good enough.


What were you thinking Alan Joyce?
:ugh:

[golfjet744]

What were you thinking Alan Joyce?
:ugh:

My guess is that they needed a fluffy family cuddly CEO. Someone who is going to soften the media criticism when the jetstar figures start to unravel over the coming year.

It still floors me that Joyce got away with blaming it on Bruce and Gurney

[DirectAnywhere]

She has had MASSIVE soft media coverage the last few weeks - puff pieces like this one.

Why remains to be seen but I would suggest it is an image manipulation thing ie. "Jetstar (and the QANTAS group) love families", before everyone gets the shaft.

[oicur12.again]

gordonramsey

Aahh, what exactly is a "compulsory male/female ratio types"?

Have you ever seen one of these in business in Australia?

[alidad]

The compulsory ratio for male / female in my bed is one to one.:p

Although some seem to "bugger up" a simple thing like that.....

[Ultergra]

Show up to work and the flight is delayed.

Phone call to manager: "Hi, capt here, sorry, got to pick the kids up from school, sooooooo"

Leaders demonstrate leadership through participation and example. She sets the example, we should all follow her lead.

Then I think about Capt Al. We're gagged on social media on what we can and can not say. Yet, on the world stage, he can bag it out all he likes. That's logical..

[gordonfvckingramsay]

oicur12.again

I have seen it in two companies where some one in HR has made specific requests for more employment of female pilots, "we don't have the right mix". So in answer to your question, yes.

[ohallen]

This whole thing of work life balance is fine, but for a company to come out in this way while they have been accused of all sorts of improper work place arrangements, flogging the troops until they drop on their feet and continue to seek ways around employing Australians is just plain hypocritical. Shows breathtaking arrogance and a level of them/us that has rarely been seen on such public display before.

The reality is that this all could have happened while any of the execs slaved away at the computer at home until 3am so why make it an issue in the public domain???

[golfjet744]

so why make it an issue in the public domain???

Bingo. So what is QF saying by putting several fluff pieces, about the jetstar CEO, into the public domain?

There is always a reason.

[Worrals in the wilds]

Bingo. So what is QF saying by putting several fluff pieces, about the jetstar CEO, into the public domain?Maybe 'We're a great employer and love our staff (the senior ones, anyway, not those smelly people in the PPE :hmm:) and their kiddies and puppies, not big bad guys like those nasty unions say we are'? Or maybe; 'We're not really a boys club run by Dixon, Singo, Clifford and the ol' school tie brigade like the nasty media tell you! Look at our new Onestar CEO! She's foreign and female!' :}

I hope she has the ticker to face the facts, lead by example and address the lifestyle issues of her employees as well as her own. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/thumbs.gif+1. It would also be interesting to know whether she has always subscribed to the family first notion, even while working her way up the corporate ladder. In many companies middle managers work horrendous hours and are expected to be surgically attached to their phone/emails 24/7. Never mind family time, for many aspiring corporate types meal and sleep time seem to be a privilege, not a right.

[Jack Ranga]

When someone is 'balancing work/life' someone else is picking up the other end of the 'work/life balance.' The work still has to be done. By whom? Extra assistants?

[gobbledock]

The working hours are superb. Isn't she fortunate that she isn't a duty manager at a port with no curfew, not having to work 14 hour days. And isn't she fortunate she doesn't have to spend up to 20 hours as a crew member on one of the typically delayed stinky international bogan flights?
And to think, Elaine apporached her and offered her a multi million dollar gift horse and she said 'oh, please, no thanks, I simply couldn't'! PONY POOH!!

And here is the kicker. Who gives a flying fistful of monkey vomit whether she is male or female! She is the CEO of Lamestar and she will act in the same manner as her predecessors - Focus on personal bonuses, staff cutting, outsourcing, destruction and pillage, just to fill her own pockets. That's the QF Group mantra. That's an iron clad gaurentee.

As for the surname, that's a 'tasteful' name indeed. Anyway Jane, welcome aboard your own personal cash cow, stick by Elaine and he will show you where the deepest end sof the trough are located. I give her maybe three years, but she will make enough $$ to last hersel a lifetime.

[DirectAnywhere]

Can we please get over Alan's sexuality and the fact her name looks like Hard Licker?

Two threads on this topic have been closed because the debate descended to this puerile level of undergraduate behaviour.

This discussion is relevant because of the hypocrisy shown by those in executive management preaching the "work-life balance" mantra in the press while increasing the demands on the time of those who work for them while cutting jobs and, as a direct consequence, increasing the pressure on the families of ordinary workers.

That is the issue here and calling Alan Joyce "Elaine", or sniggering like a schoolboy at the name Hrdlicka, adds nothing to the debate and undermines any argument you may try to present.

[allthecoolnamesarego]

DirectAnywhere,

Well said!!!!:D

[Tidbinbilla]

DirectAnywhere's post sums up the moderating team's attitude to peurile and childish posts.

Don't think that you can hide behind your cloak of anonymity, should the lawyers come-a-knocking.

Let this be a warning to those who persist with this type of behaviour: Offenders WILL be banned from PPRuNE. Come back under another name? We can block you down to I.P. level, so think about the other members with your ISP that will be affected by your selfish behaviour.

TID.

[Oxidant]

This discussion is relevant because of the hypocrisy shown by those in executive management preaching the "work-life balance" mantra in the press while increasing the demands on the time of those who work for them while cutting jobs and, as a direct consequence, increasing the pressure on the families of ordinary workers.


Nail hit square on the head.

[Toruk Macto]

Class society is alive and well in Australia . CEO 's of big companies are the new upper class and with that their belief system is based on their entitlement to say and do as they please !

[RATpin]

With respect TM, they are just catching up with the political class.

[ratpoison]

The first thing that this woman has to take a serious look at, is the cartel running flight operations. The whole place needs a wide broom through it.

Yet another very experienced wide body Capt has resigned due to the utter appalling graft and corruption. Obviously the high degree of world wide experience that was drafted in some years ago for the A330 operation is a serious threat to the little minds.

You want to be taken as a serious business woman Jane, then start by driving a fire hose through your own front and back yard. :ugh:

[Ramboflyer 1]

Tindibilla what...........

[oicur12.again]

“I have seen it in two companies where some one in HR has made specific requests for more employment of female pilots, "we don't have the right mix". So in answer to your question, yes.”

I wonder if said person in HR understood Australian labor law. It appears not.

“Isn't she fortunate that she isn't a duty manager at a port with no curfew, not having to work 14 hour days.”

You have no idea of the demands placed upon people working her job role.

“And isn't she fortunate she doesn't have to spend up to 20 hours as a crew member on one of the typically delayed stinky international bogan flights?”

Yep, isn’t it great she had the freedom of choice to pursue a career that doesn’t require this.

Some of us are not so clever.

[DirectAnywhere]

Oicur, the issue that staff have with managers like Ms Hrdlicka is having to deal with the sanctimonious rubbish such as:

Jetstar Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka says workplaces won't change until woman and men start to demand to work in different ways and draw the line.

She told him she couldn't spend two weeks a month in Asia doing deals as well as a heavy domestic travel schedule, "that's not the kind of parent I want to be".

Referring to Alan Joyce:

"He said: "There is a must better way to run this business and the role modelling you will do by running it differently is exactly what the business needs'."

Discussing her own views on "work-life" balance.

"I am very clear about my work balance rules. She said 80 per cent of the time she wants to drop her kids at school and get home by 6pm. She gets back online after dinner and bedtime. "You have to be very clear about where the that line is and manage that line because nobody else can manage that for you.

And then her view of the type of workplace she wants to work in.

"If you don't have commitment at the top to create a diverse work environment, you're not going to get there." She advised people to "dig in and check the settings on things. . . ask why we do that?"

Just to keep your head down and keep going was dangerous, as more diverse workplaces benefited everyone.

The reality is that aviation is a 24 hour business and the vast majority of people who work in the industry accept that and understand that sacrifices must be made. This sort of "preaching from the pulpit" by someone who has the ability to afford a nanny who takes care of everything at home and is able to negotiate to drop the kids off to school and be home by 6 pm sticks in the craw while most staff have to work shift work for perhaps 5% of her salary (and accept that) and their own family life suffers as a consequence.

The problem is that this issue feeds into a broader narrative of hypocrisy emanating from the offices of Coward Street and management have lost all credibility as a consequence of it.

At a time when staff are receiving emails telling them that every dollar is precious and front line staff are being asked to do more with less, are watching their colleagues being made redundant and are fearful for their jobs (what effect do you think that has on people's home life and "work-life balance"?), QANTAS is handing out goodie bags including $300 bottles of champagne to celebrate the Emirates tie-up to D-list celebrities.

At a time when the staff desperately need leadership and managers they can believe in they get this sort of stuff and it completely undermines any confidence that the staff have in senior management and destroys any remaining willingness to work co-operatively for the good of the company.

[hotnhigh]

So was the ceo impressed when told jetstar would have to buy their own 787 sim?
"But what do you mean qantas wont pay?"
Bwahhhaaaaaaaa:}

[the director]

Tindibilla if you had any balls as a moderator you'd have a real name then you may get some respect. You also hide behind your cloak and delete posts that are true but somehow upset you.
It's a public forum buddy so start facing facts or give up the job.

Ramboflyer, it's stupid comments like this that make me wonder how people like yourself hold a flight crew license :rolleyes:

[Jack Ranga]

Jetstar Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka says workplaces won't change until woman and men start to demand to work in different ways and draw the line.

Yep, try that on as a male in ANY business, let alone a shift working one and see how long your employment lasts.

The only gender that tries this on and wins at it.............................?

Even the previous scumbag CEO of this 'outfit' would have been laughed out of the joint if he had suggested this.

[neville_nobody]

Yep, isn’t it great she had the freedom of choice to pursue a career that doesn’t require this.

Exactly. So why the hell would you pick a industry that is 24/7/365 and then start preaching a 'I have to be home by 5' mentality?

If you want to knock off every day at 1700 then there are plenty of industries that work weekdays only and you can have some predictability. The reality is you cannot have it all. Something will give. Guaranteed.

Everyone who gets into aviation knows what the deal is and that's the way it goes. People make choices around this knowledge. I know some people who have deliberately chosen one airline over another on lifestyle only.

It also quite possible that she has no idea what she has just got herself into and is just shooting off some idealistic propaganda.

[Mstr Caution]

I'd say it's more to do with Jetstar trying to improve its image in the public domain.

If it was intended for employees it would have been an internal company message.

In the absence of that, I'd say it's an attempt to make Jetstar look like a family friendly employer after the bad rap they had under the previous CEO and media reports of "exploiting foreign workers".

[waren9]

Devils advocate for a minute… she got offered a job and negotiated a deal. Good on her if she got away with it.

My last job outside of aviation was to make money with diggers and trucks. The boss didn't care if I worked 1 hour/day or 16. So long as I made money. I suggest her boss isn't much different.

I suspect however as time goes on, and the mothership starts running out of subsidies the heat may well come on.

In which case, we'll see just how true NN's last sentence becomes…

It also quite possible that she has no idea what she has just got herself into and just shooting off some idealistic propaganda.

[ohallen]

She may well have gotten away with something, but that is the point.At this level your job should be your life to look after the whole process and not just what can be crammed into mummy hours. Can anyone realistically expect this from any other ASX 200 company??

Sorry, but workers are supposed to give their whole, so why shouldn't the bosses who just happen to be on multi million dollar packages.

Still cannot get over the hide of the PR people to put this out there.

[golfjet744]

I'd say it's more to do with Jetstar trying to improve its image in the public domain.

If it was intended for employees it would have been an internal company message.

In the absence of that, I'd say it's an attempt to make Jetstar look like a family friendly employer after the bad rap they had under the previous CEO and media reports of "exploiting foreign workers".

Mstr Caution, I agree.

These articles are the result of several staffers putting time into them. The jetstar "CEO" has taken significant time out of her schedule and agreed to have her kids identities publicized. The production of such press always has a reason.

It's creation is either a reaction to bad press or proactive seeding prior to the release of bad press.

[theheadmaster]

Well I guess this forum demonstrates that not only are prejudice and xenophobia themes of many PPRUNE posters, we can now add sexism to that list of endearing traits of these anonymous forum posters.

If there is some critical analysis of poor performance of the particular person concerned in the current or previous job, then go ahead and state it. Criticising someone for wanting some 'humanising roster rules' as part of her package is clutching at straws. A good leader must have good staff to support them, and the leader must have the ability to delegate their responsibility when the are away from the job. Expecting someone to be on the job 24/7 is just crazy. It is expecting something from her that you would not/should not accept yourselves.

A good analogy might be that of a captain of a ship or aircraft. On long tours of duty, they go off the bridge/flight deck for a rest and the first officer takes the watch. If something serious occurs, they can expect a call. Similarly, if the new CEO is at home with the family and something serious occurs, I am sure she can expect a phone call.

I would have thought that flight crew who spend much time away from home missing significant family events and suffering disruptions and shift work would want someone for a boss who values family time. You are going to get more sympathy from such a person when trying to negotiate conditions than someone who's only life is their job.

[Jack Ranga]

Well I guess this forum demonstrates that not only are prejudice and xenophobia themes of many PPRuNe posters, we can now add sexism to that list of endearing traits of these anonymous forum posters.

Ohhhh, what a load of bull****, send me a PM and I will identify myself and we can talk?

The crap she is preaching will not apply to 'her' pilots. Scenario, one of her male pilots walks into her office and says he wants a more family friendly roster, result????

[Transition Layer]

Everyone who gets into aviation knows what the deal is and that's the way it goes. People make choices around this knowledge.

People like Hrdlicka aren't in the aviation game. They are in the game of management - cutting costs, growing profits, taking bonuses and bull**** press releases using phrases like "going forward".

That's why they consider themselves different to us, the frontline workers, and that is why the management/employee relationship in the QF Group will forever be tarnished.

She probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a JQ A320 and A321 if you put them on the ramp next to each other. Yet she is the CEO and a candidate for 2012 "mum of the year".

[Squawk-7600]

Jayne joined the Qantas Group in August 2010, taking the role of Group Executive, Strategy and Technology. In this position she was responsible for the overall development of Group strategy, including Qantas International and the business transformation initiatives underway across the Group.

Squawk think this very funny. Many Australian Chiefs available to screw up job, why need bring in American to screw up job?

[neville_nobody]

A good analogy might be that of a captain of a ship or aircraft. On long tours of duty, they go off the bridge/flight deck for a rest and the first officer takes the watch. If something serious occurs, they can expect a call. Similarly, if the new CEO is at home with the family and something serious occurs, I am sure she can expect a phone call.

She's not arguing for that she wants to be home picking the kids up from school 80% of the time.

It would be the equivalent of a Pilot wanting to only work earlies so he could pick the kids up 4/5 days a week.

Now if Jetstar bring in a awesome bidding/rostering system that enables this and Jetstar are willing to cop the cost and inefficiency, then good on her, she is doing something for her employees.

The problem for her is that the family friendly rationale cost money and is inefficient, if they are willing to wear the cost good on them, I for one don't think they will.

[Twin Beech]

What is even more hillarious is the statement that group strategy has a full time staff of 24. How the hell could 24 people not currently in a coma have strategised QF into its current state?

Hell, give any 4 pilots enough beer coupons and they'll come up with a strategy no worse than theirs. For next to nothing, except in PER where beer may cost more than the savings in staff, synergies notwithstanding, going forward. Etc.

D18S

[golfjet744]

How the hell could 24 people not currently in a coma have strategised QF into its current state?

My guess is they were telling their bosses (executive/board) what they wanted to hear.It's a sign of outstanding leadership and a demonstration of a top shelf executive culture.

[The The]

From The AFR Boss Magazine

When Jayne Hardlicka told her young sons she had a new job running an airline they got a bit worried. "How can you be the boss of an airline when you can't fly a plane?" they asked.

Finally, someone with some sense! Could we please appoint these kids to the Qantas board?

Joyce was a client when Hardlicka was at Bain and she says he's been an important mentor.

So let's get this straight. Qantas PAYS $100m per year to MENTOR consultants?

There were benefits from spending two years building the strategy arm for Qantas.......It didn't have a centre of excellence and in the last couple of years we built great capability

2 years for the strategy arm of Qantas and this is the best they come up with? A centre of Excellence?

[Mstr Caution]

JH - responsible for the overall group strategy over the last two years.

Would that be the disastrous Industrial Strategy which lead to the grounding of the airline?

[AEROMEDIC]

I notice that the posts so far have missed the point.

This is a monumental mistake by Joyce as I said with my earlier post.
The point is that he might seem devious and manipulative, but that's giving him too much credit.
Hrdlicka has managed to convince him that she has the "right stuff". So much so that he has been willing to allow her the luxury of family time of her own choosing with the assurance that at those times she will delegate her tasks and duties to the right people to carry out. She might be a good worker but not good enough for this gig.
The thread should be focusing on Joyce and his inability to make the right decisions.
To appoint Hrdlicka as CEO of Jetstar is another monumental error of judgement by Joyce. Sooner or later things will unravel once more and if Joyce is still at the helm he'll stuff it up again.
:ugh::ugh::ugh:

[golfjet744]

Hrdlicka has managed to convince him that she has the "right stuff". So much so that he has been willing to allow her the luxury of family time of her own choosing with the assurance that at those times she will delegate her tasks and duties to the right people to carry out.

There is very little truth behind this article. It's an advertisement. It's designed to manipulate public opinion.

I wouldn't like to be in her position over the coming year. If she is a hard working exec she will fight it out and sacrifice her family. If she puts her family first she will probably quit within a year.

[Twin Beech]

I agree that this is one more piece of evidence that Joyce is incompetent. So what? That particular dead horse has been flogged to jelly. We all know, and are weary of that sad truth.

Hrdlicka is the new kid in town, and all we have is this fluff piece positioned by the Grupenliars. She will sink or swim on her own merits;either way we'll then get a chance to pillory her for sport and angst relief.

D18S

[-438]

The biggest risk to Jetstar, is not coming from how hard the multiple Qantas group CEO's work.
It will be how cost are apportioned between group companies.
Jetstar's future domestic growth will be dependant upon the amount of money Singapore is willing to 'invest in/grow' Tiger. Remember in the low cost segment, he who has the lowest cost wins in the end. As for Jetstar's international ops, success will be dependant on how willing QF continues to be to support the various entities if the competition makes it difficult.
The only good thing I can see coming from this segmented business model with multiple CEO's, is that individual CEO's may want costs apportioned more realistically.
If Jane wants to pick up her kids from school, it won't be Jetstar's downfall.

[golfjet744]

As for Jetstar's international ops, success will be dependant on how willing QF continues to be to support the various entities if the competition makes it difficult.
The only good thing I can see coming from this segmented business model with multiple CEO's, is that individual CEO's may want costs apportioned more realistically.

So there is a changing strategy for the group. New CEOs that want costs apportioned more realistically (an interesting concept). We have a change in numbers on the executive (favoring Qf mainline). The new jetstar CEO starts softening jetstar's slave labor image.

I smell bad news heading jetstars way

[Mstr Caution]

The biggest risk to Jetstar, is not coming from how hard the multiple Qantas group CEO's work.

The larger risk is the September EK/QF merger deal which didn't have any Jetstar branding in sight.

It will be how cost are apportioned between group companies.

Already happening between LH & SH Mainline fleets. Hotel accommodation & allowances correctly apportioned.

Jetstar's future domestic growth will be dependant upon the amount of money Singapore is willing to 'invest in/grow' Tiger. Remember in the low cost segment, he who has the lowest cost wins in the end. As for Jetstar's international ops, success will be dependant on how willing QF continues to be to support the various entities if the competition makes it difficult.

That QF support will depend on Tim Clark's view of the global aviation scene. He was the competition.

I smell bad news heading jetstars way.

I reckon AJ asked JH to fill the JQ CEO role cause no other players were champing at the bit to fill it. The interviews went on to outline how surprised JH was with the job offer & how she asked AJ if she could take some time to think about the offer. LS has been around, he's got LC on his side he was a shoe in for the LH or SH business CEO. Simon Hickey was making coin for the Qantas Group as CEO Frequent Flyer. Both LS & SH were known entities around Qantas. When the new CEO for JQ was announced people were saying Jayne who?

[Twin Beech]

We legacy folk have long suspected JQ's financial viability once the crutch was kicked from under their arms. We seem to be on the eve of that event. Other carriers have abandonded their LCC projects once it became obvious they canabalised the main business.

Now that DJ is gong mainstream there is less rationale for JQ in its present scope. Certainly long haul/widebody LCC seems to be a dud model everywhere its tried. Absent the silent subsidies from QF LH it might be sooner than later that JQ contracts its LH operations. There will always be a strong Bali/Phuket/Boganville (spelling intentional) market, but that's about it.

I imagine that PHNL will become a daily QF operation soon...its a natural EK codeshare extension. As is SFO, but that is clearly too much to hope for.

As far as JH being surprised at the offer of the JQ CEO role: when I was an enforcer for the mob in Cleveland we had a saying...if you don't know who's the patsy in the room, it's you.

Vinnie

[What The]

There is money in the cost side of the business, however, the real money is in the revenue side.

Say, for example, a pax wanted to fly SYD-SIN-KUL return and paid $1800 for the ticket. The SIN-KUL return is (rounded up) 5% of the distance travelled. How would you determine the revenue split between QF and JQ Asia for the ticket?

There are many examples where the revenue is not what would seem logical and it is done for many reasons. However it may further cloud the real performance of a business if those making all of the decisions are not across the detail.

[Twin Beech]

Oh sure, revenue is always where the action is: follow the money. The reason frequent flyer makes money, and long haul does not? Revenue sharing. The reason package sales do well but carriers do not? Ditto. The reason I wear Armani and my wife rags? You guessed it!

[Animalclub]

Say, for example, a pax wanted to fly SYD-SIN-KUL return and paid $1800 for the ticket. The SIN-KUL return is (rounded up) 5% of the distance travelled. How would you determine the revenue split between QF and JQ Asia for the ticket?

In the IATA fare construction days the eastern seaboard round to ADL was common rated from Europe (mainly 'cos you had to go via SYD) and TN plus AN charged full Y sector fare. Many a tour operator had tickets issued from Europe to ADL but travelled as far as say MEB and had the MEBADL sector re-issued to an Misc Charges Order later used to pay some of the accommodation charges for the group!! And they got away with it!!

[neville_nobody]

AFR BOSS Magazine


When Jayne Hrdlicka told her young sons she had a new job running an airline they got a bit worried. “How can you be the boss of an airline when you can’t fly a plane?” they asked.

Actually, there are quite a lot of other skills Hrdlicka needs for her new role as chief executive of the Qantas budget carrier, Jetstar. The former management consultant and Qantas strategy executive will be using every bit of her experience managing change and customer-led growth as she settles into the role at a hard time.

In the domestic arena, Jetstar is facing a *reinvigorated Virgin Australia, led by former Qantas executive John Borghetti. Along with parent Qantas, Jetstar is fighting to maintain the 65 per cent domestic market share it deems *crucial to maintaining the full-service airline’s premium over rival Virgin Australia.

The domestic business is under huge pressure to deliver as its international business takes a beating. Qantas International last month posted an annual loss of $450 million, pushing the airline to a $245 million loss – its first in 17 years since it was privatised and publicly listed.

Jetstar’s relatively low cost base is a huge advantage as it also pushes into the Asian region. But anyone who has flown the airline knows cheap has not made for an especially cheerful flying experience.
Sitting down with BOSS  just a few weeks after taking over from chief executive of four years Bruce Buchanan, Hrdlicka makes it clear that customer and employee relations need more work. “The thing we have invested in and *doubled down on is safety,” she says.

“But the things we have done less well, clearly, is on the customer front and I don’t think we have put our people as forward as we could have . . . It takes time. There’s some quick things we can do. But everybody has a bad Jetstar story and bad ones stick with you and get talked about . . . It’s all the classic stuff we have to do.”

Domestic growth is still a priority, with further increases in capacity planned as appropriate, she says, which will provide a challenge to competitors. “We’re lucky because strategically we can work hand-in-hand with Qantas . . . the more *premium full-service marketplace has a much different cost structure . . . with the Qantas brand we are very focused about where we put it and how we develop it. We are not worried about the low fare model because we have that already.”

Although consumer sentiment in recent months has been wobbly due to the global *outlook, spending on recreational travel has been relatively unscathed.

“In a funny way leisure travel has benefited from that. We continually evaluate where the demand is and where we fly . . . and putting *supply back into the mix.

“The strength of the Australian dollar is *making some markets more attractive. We will continue to open up the low fares market in *Australia – there are growth rates in that part of the market which are very attractive.”

There will be a lot of airline consolidation across Asia, Hrdlicka says, and the longer-term goal is for Jetstar is to be the major low-cost brand in the region. Jetstar is rapidly pushing into Asia. It has offshoots in Vietnam, Singapore, and Japan, and is seeking approval from regulators for a new *venture based in Hong Kong.

“We are just about to finalise a very detailed shareholder agreement with our partner China Eastern . . . once we incorporate the business in Hong Kong we can begin actively to get the business operational this financial year,” Hrdlicka says. “We have huge growth in front of us, and the relationship with China Eastern is very important for Qantas group. Japan should be one of our biggest businesses and could be as big as the Australian business if we succeed.”

On the industrial relations front, she says, *Jetstar faces a different landscape from Qantas.

“It’s a lot simpler because our agreements are five, six or seven years old at the most. If you look at the pilot EBA [enterprise bargaining agreement], Qantas’ is hundreds of pages and Jetstar’s is a handful of pages. I’ve spent my first seven or eight weeks in the business talking to lots of *people and to pilots. Some of the Jetstar pilots were Qantas pilots who have elected to take leave without pay and work for Jetstar. There are *different opportunities in Jetstar because of our growth and culture.”

Jetstar, which was launched in 2004, was of course designed to be entrepreneurial with a *relatively flat structure. It was Alan Joyce’s domain for five years before he became Qantas chief executive in 2008.

A native of the US midwest, Hrdlicka was raised in a successful immigrant family which stressed the importance of hard work. Her father had defected from the Czech Republic and believed strongly in the right to choose and be your best.

After a career in management consulting and business in the US, Hrdlicka moved here in 1994 to run a company (Dynamic Marketing), against the advice of her parents. “You get an itch to reorient your perspective . . . I always said I’d stay [in Australia] five or six years.”

Having already worked with Bain in America, Hrdlicka joined the firm here and spent 11 years as a partner. “Consulting is a great way to have a family and after I went back to Bain, two kids, two dogs and an Australian husband later . . . I thought about going back to the US but couldn’t work out where I would go. Lifestyle and family balance also came into it.”

Joyce was a client when Hrdlicka was a partner at Bain and she says he’s been an important mentor. “I wouldn’t have come to Qantas except for him and the very *capable leaders he has,” she says.

It was in early 2010 that Joyce got in touch with Hrdlicka to discuss a possible role at the airline. “Alan and I had been speaking since *February. It took us three to four months and I agreed I would come to *Qantas . . . it took to the end of June to take that decision. So I had the conversation with the partners at Bain . . . and I resigned and the next day I got a call from [headhunters] Egon Zehnder and they said ‘would you consider a role on the Woolworths board?’. [Woolworths chair] James Strong had no idea I was in discussion with Alan – he was my first client when I came back to Bain and Woolworths was my *second.”

Hrdlicka’s US experience running operations for SkyBox, which produced basketball and football trading cards, and with Bain clients forged a down-to-earth, results-driven style.

“What I think differentiated me was I knew how to solve problems and felt well qualified to manage what came at me,” she says. “I know enough to ask the right *questions and get the right people in the room and the specialists . . . there’s always a way to work through it. I have an inclusive style and I like to understand other people’s views. I’m not big on hierarchy and don’t like lots of *layers. I like to have the analysis.”

The years at Bain gave Hrdlicka the chance to get deeply into what she describes as the “consumer experience’’. “If you really understand what drives *revenue then you understand customers, which investment to make and how to run a really profitable business. If you don’t understand that it’s hard to make the trade-offs.”

Running a budget airline in Australia is a very different thing to running the strategy function for Qantas and being a consultant.

While it’s not exactly a trend yet, *Hrdlicka’s move from consulting through to the CEO office – she admits she didn’t expect to move quite so quickly – is similar to the path by Commonwealth Bank’s CEO Ian Narev, who was a McKinsey consultant before heading up strategy at CBA.

“I don’t see why we wouldn’t see more [such appointments] in the future,” she says. “We’re in times of change and businesses need to seek more diversity and having a different mix of people in your business, and moving them around inside your business, is a really good thing.”

There were benefits from spending two years building the strategy arm for *Qantas. The business had been “over-*consulted and was hungry for a different way”.

“There was a heavy reliance on consultants. It’s pretty hypocritical now to say but a company needs its own capability. You need to challenge convention from within and not to have that fully outside the company.

“It didn’t have a centre of excellence and in the last couple of years we built great capability.”

[maggot]

her son is pretty switched on

;)

[golfjet744]

Another fluff piece about the change to jetstar industrial relations. Jetstar is so warm and cuddly. So is this aimed at the staff, the government, the regulator, the public, the investors or emirates?

I thought Qantas was customer focused and jetstar was cost focused? It's always a good business strategy to completely confuse your brands a customers.

[AEROMEDIC]

The years at Bain gave Hrdlicka the chance to get deeply into what she describes as the “consumer experience’’. “If you really understand what drives *revenue then you understand customers, which investment to make and how to run a really profitable business. If you don’t understand that it’s hard to make the trade-offs.”

There is nothing in her statements to say what steps she has taken to understand the people who DELIVER the needs of the customers.
The first step to take by someone who heads up a business is to ensure that the service, product, etc. is provided satisfactorily, on time and cost effective.
This cannot be done without all the employees happily contributing along the way.

Hrdlicka should delve into what makes staff passionate and proud to deliver the services and restore what once was, to what should be.

[ferris]

In the words of a consultant.....“There was a heavy reliance on consultants. It’s pretty hypocritical now to say but a company needs its own capability. You need to challenge convention from within and not to have that fully outside the company. Gold.

"now that I'm not a consultant, consultants are a waste of money...."

[Jack Ranga]

"now that I'm not a consultant, consultants are a waste of money...."

Yep, you are right, feckin' hypocrites :yuk: