Anthony Tsoukas

Current job
Airport Customer Experience Manager, Qantas Airways, Brisbane Domestic & International Airports.

Degree
Bachelor Journalism/Bachelor Business (Public Relations), 2006.

First job
I was still employed casually as a journalist at Channel Seven Queensland’s Sunshine Coast bureau up to and shortly after graduating from my dual degree. In May 2006, I made the move to the United Kingdom (the beginning of my ‘quarter life crisis’), and secured an exciting and memorable job opportunity as a Recruitment Advisor at Harrods.

Story so far
My time in London reinforced my passion for travel and the aviation business. After a six-month stint working for a public relations consultancy in my native Brisbane, I made the bold move to trade my desk for ‘an office in the sky’, and have never looked back. I was fortunate to gain a gig as a Long-haul Flight Attendant with Qantas based in Melbourne. Clichés aside, the role (and I refuse to call it a ‘job’) took me far and wide (even to Antarctica!), connected me with family and friends around the world, and presented endless opportunities for duty free alcohol!

A journo’s ‘nose for news’ never leaves you, and I did my best to keep my brain ticking over by reading widely and always had CNN switched on during our hotel layovers. The grounding of our A380 fleet in 2011 was a bit of a blessing in disguise for me and my career aspirations – I was seconded into an internal communications role in Sydney for six months where I produced a monthly publication for our 8,000 cabin crew, and worked on a number of other projects.

Keen to climb the ladder and move into the HR space, I jumped ship to our younger brother Jetstar into a cabin crew management role in 2012. As a people manager, I wore multiple hats and often had to play ‘bad cop’, but learnt an awful lot about working with and getting the most out of people. I also introduced a similar monthly magazine for Jetstar cabin crew, and was later promoted as a Base Manager, overseeing our entire Brisbane and Darwin operations.

I did a U-turn and returned to Qantas in July 2014 after being successful in a combined People and Airport Manager role, overseeing our Domestic and International operations. Getting to know the ins and outs of the airport environment has been a steep learning curve, but a valuable move for my career within the business – even with the brutal shift work!

We hear it a lot, but ‘journos will always be journos’ – and I still feel passionately about our craft even though I’m not currently working in the field. I’m genuinely grateful for the skills and opportunities with which my journalism degree has presented me, and use them each and every day! Of course, the travel perks working for an airline are everything you hear and more. My fiancé and I use every opportunity to jump on a plane when we can, even if it’s only for a handful of days.