High-flyer has Qantas staying alive (Geoff Thomas)
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High-flyer has Qantas staying alive (Geoff Thomas)
Mon "Melbourne Age"
High-flyer has Qantas staying alive
By Geoff Thomas
July 1 2002
As weeks go, last week was a good one for Qantas' chief executive Geoff Dixon.
On Monday, it was a 10 per cent hike in profit forecast when most of the world airlines are battling to stem losses, while Tuesday it was a show-stopping announcement that United States actor John Travolta's love affair with Qantas would see Travolta promoting the airline with his own 707.
In fact, since Dixon, 62, was appointed Qantas chief executive and managing director in March 2001 there have been nothing but good weeks.
His management style, with a sharp commercial edge, is in stark contrast to that of his predecessor and close friend James Strong, and that is great news for the travelling public.
Under Strong, Qantas' growth in the domestic market for a number of years was below GDP, which reflected Strong's conservative approach.
Dixon, on the other hand, has a sharp commercial edge and a keen sense of what the public wants. In the style of a junkyard dog, he defends his territory aggressively.
That style has been honed over many years in the airline industry.
Prior to joining Qantas in 1994, Dixon worked at Ansett as its director of marketing and industry sales, and as general manager of marketing at Trans Australian Airlines, which he rebadged as Australian Airlines.
The fortunes of Australian Airlines, which was later bought by Qantas, and Ansett, were linked with Dixon's appointments, according to one former Ansett board member.
"When he was at Australian he beat us up, so we poached him after Mr Strong left Australian," he says.
Dixon was responsible for Australian Airlines introducing business class in the early 1980s and for clawing back market share for Ansett in the early '90s. But Dixon's roots are far from the Qantas boardroom. At heart he is a boy from the bush.
Born in Wagga Wagga, he left school before his Leaving Certificate to take a cadetship at the Wagga Daily Advertiser and quickly rose to chief of staff before heading overseas. Back in Australia, he did a stint at the Nabalco bauxite mine at Gove in the Northern Territory, where he met Strong. Dixon worked in liaison with the Aboriginal community, while Strong was involved in industrial relations. Dixon spent the next 13 years in the Australian Government Overseas Service in Australia and on a posting at the Australian Missions in The Hague, New York and San Francisco.
Strong, over a beer in New York, persuaded Dixon to quit to come home and lobby politicians on behalf of Australian mining industries.
Just two years later Dixon followed Strong into Trans Australian Airlines when Strong was appointed chief executive.
Dixon's commercial savvy is awesome.
He grabbed Peter Allan's I Still Call Australia Home for Qantas, arranged the painting of some of Qantas' jets in Aboriginal art and ambushed Ansett's standing as official airline at the Sydney Olympics with commercials using Australian sports stars who had sponsorship ties to Qantas.
But his biggest coup, came to him watching Christmas carols sung by the National Boys' Choir on Christmas Eve.
Next morning he phoned John Singleton and set up the campaign of having the choir sing Peter Allen's song at six spectacular locations worldwide.
Singleton protested it would cost a fortune but $3 million later, Qantas had one of the best advertising campaigns ever seen in Australia.
With that commercial edge, Dixon, who is big on practical and ignores theory, is charting an aggressive flight path of expansion for Qantas.
So far his shopping list has committed the airline to 12 555-seat A380s, 13 300-seat A330s, six 386-seat Boeing 747- 400ERs, six 106-seat Boeing 717s and 15 180-seat 737-800s. The bill, which includes a host of interior upgrades, is a sobering $2.5 billion a year over the next four years.
But each type will add significant value to the fleet while cutting costs.
Dixon took over Impulse Airlines last year, which gave Qantas a large stake in the low-fare, low-cost, non-unionised airline market. Air New Zealand is the next target. Further afield is a stake in the giant American Airlines, analysts say.
An aggressive expansion policy means one thing to the travelling public, an abundance of seats and affordable fares.
And a measure of his aggression the fact that Qantas was the first to sign a binding contract with Airbus for the world's largest passenger aircraft, the A380.
"Mr Dixon is going to grow Qantas into a global powerhouse," one analyst says.
However, the airline will not expand for expansion's stake, he says.
Qantas has forged a ruthless reputation of pulling out of markets if the profits were not there.
Korea and Malaysia are good examples, but the airline is returning to those countries under its new Australian Airlines low-cost banner, which will make money at those price sensitive markets, say analysts.
But Dixon still needs the Federal Government to think globally if Qantas is to realise its full potential, Dixon argues.
"We must be able to access global financial markets to lift our share price and secure the best interest rates," he says.
Qantas wants the government to ease the Qantas Sale Act to allow foreign ownership to exceed 49 per cent. Analysts says that will push the share price from Friday's close of $4.60, to $6.50.
But the boy from the bush, whose passion for Australia is only matched by his passion for his mates back in Wagga Wagga, says Qantas will always be Australian.
"The board will always be Australian and our headquarters will be Sydney," he says.
However, Dixon sounds a note of warning. "People are sometimes startled when I say the future (survival) of Qantas is not inevitable. We have not inherent right to continue," he cautions. "Qantas like everyone else has to adapt to survive in the emerging world aviation order - we are not immune."
With the street sense that gets John Travolta on board and beating the Qantas drum, there is little doubt that Dixon will keep Qantas staying alive.
-West Australian
High-flyer has Qantas staying alive
By Geoff Thomas
July 1 2002
As weeks go, last week was a good one for Qantas' chief executive Geoff Dixon.
On Monday, it was a 10 per cent hike in profit forecast when most of the world airlines are battling to stem losses, while Tuesday it was a show-stopping announcement that United States actor John Travolta's love affair with Qantas would see Travolta promoting the airline with his own 707.
In fact, since Dixon, 62, was appointed Qantas chief executive and managing director in March 2001 there have been nothing but good weeks.
His management style, with a sharp commercial edge, is in stark contrast to that of his predecessor and close friend James Strong, and that is great news for the travelling public.
Under Strong, Qantas' growth in the domestic market for a number of years was below GDP, which reflected Strong's conservative approach.
Dixon, on the other hand, has a sharp commercial edge and a keen sense of what the public wants. In the style of a junkyard dog, he defends his territory aggressively.
That style has been honed over many years in the airline industry.
Prior to joining Qantas in 1994, Dixon worked at Ansett as its director of marketing and industry sales, and as general manager of marketing at Trans Australian Airlines, which he rebadged as Australian Airlines.
The fortunes of Australian Airlines, which was later bought by Qantas, and Ansett, were linked with Dixon's appointments, according to one former Ansett board member.
"When he was at Australian he beat us up, so we poached him after Mr Strong left Australian," he says.
Dixon was responsible for Australian Airlines introducing business class in the early 1980s and for clawing back market share for Ansett in the early '90s. But Dixon's roots are far from the Qantas boardroom. At heart he is a boy from the bush.
Born in Wagga Wagga, he left school before his Leaving Certificate to take a cadetship at the Wagga Daily Advertiser and quickly rose to chief of staff before heading overseas. Back in Australia, he did a stint at the Nabalco bauxite mine at Gove in the Northern Territory, where he met Strong. Dixon worked in liaison with the Aboriginal community, while Strong was involved in industrial relations. Dixon spent the next 13 years in the Australian Government Overseas Service in Australia and on a posting at the Australian Missions in The Hague, New York and San Francisco.
Strong, over a beer in New York, persuaded Dixon to quit to come home and lobby politicians on behalf of Australian mining industries.
Just two years later Dixon followed Strong into Trans Australian Airlines when Strong was appointed chief executive.
Dixon's commercial savvy is awesome.
He grabbed Peter Allan's I Still Call Australia Home for Qantas, arranged the painting of some of Qantas' jets in Aboriginal art and ambushed Ansett's standing as official airline at the Sydney Olympics with commercials using Australian sports stars who had sponsorship ties to Qantas.
But his biggest coup, came to him watching Christmas carols sung by the National Boys' Choir on Christmas Eve.
Next morning he phoned John Singleton and set up the campaign of having the choir sing Peter Allen's song at six spectacular locations worldwide.
Singleton protested it would cost a fortune but $3 million later, Qantas had one of the best advertising campaigns ever seen in Australia.
With that commercial edge, Dixon, who is big on practical and ignores theory, is charting an aggressive flight path of expansion for Qantas.
So far his shopping list has committed the airline to 12 555-seat A380s, 13 300-seat A330s, six 386-seat Boeing 747- 400ERs, six 106-seat Boeing 717s and 15 180-seat 737-800s. The bill, which includes a host of interior upgrades, is a sobering $2.5 billion a year over the next four years.
But each type will add significant value to the fleet while cutting costs.
Dixon took over Impulse Airlines last year, which gave Qantas a large stake in the low-fare, low-cost, non-unionised airline market. Air New Zealand is the next target. Further afield is a stake in the giant American Airlines, analysts say.
An aggressive expansion policy means one thing to the travelling public, an abundance of seats and affordable fares.
And a measure of his aggression the fact that Qantas was the first to sign a binding contract with Airbus for the world's largest passenger aircraft, the A380.
"Mr Dixon is going to grow Qantas into a global powerhouse," one analyst says.
However, the airline will not expand for expansion's stake, he says.
Qantas has forged a ruthless reputation of pulling out of markets if the profits were not there.
Korea and Malaysia are good examples, but the airline is returning to those countries under its new Australian Airlines low-cost banner, which will make money at those price sensitive markets, say analysts.
But Dixon still needs the Federal Government to think globally if Qantas is to realise its full potential, Dixon argues.
"We must be able to access global financial markets to lift our share price and secure the best interest rates," he says.
Qantas wants the government to ease the Qantas Sale Act to allow foreign ownership to exceed 49 per cent. Analysts says that will push the share price from Friday's close of $4.60, to $6.50.
But the boy from the bush, whose passion for Australia is only matched by his passion for his mates back in Wagga Wagga, says Qantas will always be Australian.
"The board will always be Australian and our headquarters will be Sydney," he says.
However, Dixon sounds a note of warning. "People are sometimes startled when I say the future (survival) of Qantas is not inevitable. We have not inherent right to continue," he cautions. "Qantas like everyone else has to adapt to survive in the emerging world aviation order - we are not immune."
With the street sense that gets John Travolta on board and beating the Qantas drum, there is little doubt that Dixon will keep Qantas staying alive.
-West Australian
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I flew with both airlines recently and I thought VB won hands down. The atmosphere with Q was 'tired' whereas VB oozed honesty, enthusiasm and enjoyment. First time I had cruised to AD at 40,000' (with VB). Also if Q advertise dinner then dinner it should be not cold rice, a couple of small lumps of chicken and a cold mouldy bread roll that could have gone 45 overs in a night game easily in a cardboard box. Keep up the good work VB.
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Cynical Me
If I didn’t know better, I would suggest that maybe this was Dixon’s biography 
I know how to get your market share up higher Geoff, invest some money in personalities for some of your FAs and ground staff
I know how to get your market share up higher Geoff, invest some money in personalities for some of your FAs and ground staff
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While Geoff is an excellent CEO lets not let history get distorted.
A couple of factual errors in the story.
1. I still call Australia Home was a QF theme song long before Geoff joined the Company.
2. The 12 A380's, 13 A330's and six B744ER's were all ordered and evaluated while Strong was running the Company. Geoff was running Marketing and had nothing to do with Fleet. The B717's and B738's are Geoff's.
3. The paint jobs on the B747's were done while Strong ran the Company. B738 is Geoff's.
A couple of factual errors in the story.
1. I still call Australia Home was a QF theme song long before Geoff joined the Company.
2. The 12 A380's, 13 A330's and six B744ER's were all ordered and evaluated while Strong was running the Company. Geoff was running Marketing and had nothing to do with Fleet. The B717's and B738's are Geoff's.
3. The paint jobs on the B747's were done while Strong ran the Company. B738 is Geoff's.
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[B]WRONG reflex 10
" I still call Australia home " was Dixon's idea while he was at QF, just not in the postion of CEO at that time
Wunala Dreaming was painted during Strong's time as CEO however it was also Dixon's idea, he was just not CEO at that time.
Get your facts straight buddy !
" I still call Australia home " was Dixon's idea while he was at QF, just not in the postion of CEO at that time
Wunala Dreaming was painted during Strong's time as CEO however it was also Dixon's idea, he was just not CEO at that time.
Get your facts straight buddy !
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More Facts
Re I still call Australia Home....In fact Geoff Dixon tried to buy for Ansett BUT Abeles baulked at the $250,000 cost so GD purcahsed the song as soon as he arrived at Qantas.
Re A380: While Strong was there he turned the deal over to GD as he would have to live with the selection. The A380/A330 were all GD.
GT
Re A380: While Strong was there he turned the deal over to GD as he would have to live with the selection. The A380/A330 were all GD.
GT
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More for the record
Geoff Dixon was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Qantas Airways in March 2001. He was Chief Executive Designate from November 2000 until March 2001. He has served on the Board of Directors since August 2000.
So he was very much the focus of the A380/A300 selection.
GT
So he was very much the focus of the A380/A300 selection.
GT
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Ah! but Geoffrey, work this out.
The A380's, A330's and B747ER's were approved at the November 2000 Board after 18 months of study which eliminated the B747 Stretch and B777 from contention. This is fact not rumour.
The A380's, A330's and B747ER's were approved at the November 2000 Board after 18 months of study which eliminated the B747 Stretch and B777 from contention. This is fact not rumour.
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A380 etc
Certainly but as you would well know the evaluation is done by the back room experts and management gets involved toward the end when the total proposal is put first to senior management and then the board. James Strong told me its was finally left up to Geoff Dixon and the other board members so I guess that is what happened. As director of marketing etc prior to being CEO I am certain that Dixon was very much in the picture on what each aircraft offered.
Anyway with the deal that Qantas was offered anyone would have purchased the A380/A330 combination.
Best GT
Anyway with the deal that Qantas was offered anyone would have purchased the A380/A330 combination.
Best GT
Without wishing to be too contraversial here Mr. Thomas (and I will no doubt draw flak for doing so), isn't this all a little too much cowering deference to Mr Dixon. Yes he may have done some good work but essentially Ansett was a basket case and good business fortune literally fell in his lap.
Ansett and Qantas charged identical airfares for years, Ansett had a horrendous cost base and Qantas a far leaner structure. Clearly QF allowed the status quo to exist to take the cream off the top and keep the shareholders hapy.
Impulse and Virgin arrived on the scene, Qantas could (sort of) compete and Ansett died a natural death. With that, QF inherited a massive slice of the market and Dixon has been hailed as some sort of corporate guru. It concerns me that journalists have difficulty seeing this big picture.
Incidentally, my QF shares are still well south of the price I purchased them at and not recovering. I wish I got Patrick shares before they got into Virgin Blue. Sadly I have none!
There is a company with a structure which has the potential to cause QF great grief. Low cost base, good staff morale, clever customer management (take note Ms Jackson: staff and customers first = happy shareholders second).
One Lord King Scoffed at Branson but now Lord Kings' airline is in deep trouble and Virgin (whilst not a monolith) is far more of a serious competitor than they ever would have imagined.
I would suggest that all of this Dixon lionisation is 1) unfounded and 2) at odds with journalistic neutrality and healthy scepticism.
Ansett and Qantas charged identical airfares for years, Ansett had a horrendous cost base and Qantas a far leaner structure. Clearly QF allowed the status quo to exist to take the cream off the top and keep the shareholders hapy.
Impulse and Virgin arrived on the scene, Qantas could (sort of) compete and Ansett died a natural death. With that, QF inherited a massive slice of the market and Dixon has been hailed as some sort of corporate guru. It concerns me that journalists have difficulty seeing this big picture.
Incidentally, my QF shares are still well south of the price I purchased them at and not recovering. I wish I got Patrick shares before they got into Virgin Blue. Sadly I have none!
There is a company with a structure which has the potential to cause QF great grief. Low cost base, good staff morale, clever customer management (take note Ms Jackson: staff and customers first = happy shareholders second).
One Lord King Scoffed at Branson but now Lord Kings' airline is in deep trouble and Virgin (whilst not a monolith) is far more of a serious competitor than they ever would have imagined.
I would suggest that all of this Dixon lionisation is 1) unfounded and 2) at odds with journalistic neutrality and healthy scepticism.
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GT,
A few free flights on QF sure gets the Chief Exec. some good publicity, doesn't it? (I am not saying he does not deserve it, his record speaks for itself)
I noticed in small print under one of your articles that your flights were courtesy of QF.
Was it J Class?
I hope so!
"Clearance Clarance"
"Roger Rogor"
A few free flights on QF sure gets the Chief Exec. some good publicity, doesn't it? (I am not saying he does not deserve it, his record speaks for itself)
I noticed in small print under one of your articles that your flights were courtesy of QF.
Was it J Class?
I hope so!
"Clearance Clarance"
"Roger Rogor"
Mmmm....food for thought there waterops with that excellent post!
Actually the good Mayor dropped me an email. He apologised for his outburst, recognised that aircraft play a vital role in the Australian economy, ralised that the economy of his very electorate is reliant to a great degree on the airport itself and promised never to complain again.
Actually the good Mayor dropped me an email. He apologised for his outburst, recognised that aircraft play a vital role in the Australian economy, ralised that the economy of his very electorate is reliant to a great degree on the airport itself and promised never to complain again.
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Reply/Comment:
Yes the flight was free and Y. In most cases however in my position as Senior Editor for Air Transport World we pay and again Y.
Regarding Mr Dixon, certainly Ansett's woes have helped but many of Mr Dixon's achievements were with Australian (business class) and then Ansett clawing back market share.
Besides most of Qantas' profit (80%) normally comes from O/S...four routes in fact and Dixon's management style and that of James Strong has positioned the airline extremely well in that market.
If you can find something to be critical of Mr Dixon please let me know. I doubt you can and what is wrong with giving praise where it is due.
Best GT
Yes the flight was free and Y. In most cases however in my position as Senior Editor for Air Transport World we pay and again Y.
Regarding Mr Dixon, certainly Ansett's woes have helped but many of Mr Dixon's achievements were with Australian (business class) and then Ansett clawing back market share.
Besides most of Qantas' profit (80%) normally comes from O/S...four routes in fact and Dixon's management style and that of James Strong has positioned the airline extremely well in that market.
If you can find something to be critical of Mr Dixon please let me know. I doubt you can and what is wrong with giving praise where it is due.
Best GT
