Qantas reorganisation to establish eight stand-alone businesses

Qantas said today that the reorganisation of the company announced last week would see the establishment of at least eight stand-alone businesses, each with its own management and leadership.

The Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, Geoff Dixon, said the reorganisation would enable the company to manage constant change more effectively, and drive current and future initiatives to maintain the airline's reputation for excellence.

He said the eight or more businesses would come from three areas - flying businesses; flying services (Maintenance and Airports); and associated businesses (Catering, Freight, Qantas Holidays and Qantas Defence Services).

Qantas Catering had been selected as the pilot business segment.

"Each business will have budgets and profit targets and be required to produce targeted returns on the assets allocated to them and, at the same time, operate to optimise the performance of the whole Qantas Group," Mr Dixon said.

"I am confident that this project will greatly improve our performance in all areas, allow us to compete more effectively, protect jobs at Qantas and, importantly, deliver better service to our customers and more fulfilling jobs for our people."

The businesses will be supported by a corporate centre, including a shared services division that will provide information technology, human resources and financial services to each business segment.

"Critical to the success of the reorganisation will be a focus on building the way we operate as a business - our operating style - to improve accountability, collaboration and leadership. We will increase accountability levels for people's actions and results by setting clearer performance expectations and empowering managers to deliver against those targets. We will also improve collaboration and leadership practices, including better communication on Qantas' business strategy and continued investment in talent development and succession planning," Mr Dixon said.

He said that organisational structures set up under past conditions could no longer deliver the outcomes required in the new aviation environment.

"Qantas has to develop different and better ways of doing business to meet new challenges such as the increasing number of low cost airlines, Government owned and backed airlines, and airlines under various forms of protection through Government financial support or, in North America, Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection."

See also: Qantas reports profit before tax of A$502.3 million.

and: New Look Qantas International Fleet a Feature of Ongoing Investment Program.