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Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has confirmed he is set to release his memoir on 28 July following months of speculation.
Titled “Touching the Jet Stream”, the book, published by Hardie Grant, is billed as “a compelling, factual and gripping memoir from one of Australia’s most consequential chief executives”, and will cover Joyce’s career across 30 years in the aviation industry.
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“With a network spanning seven prime ministers and countless captains of industry, Alan Joyce provides a no-holds-barred account of some of the most important decisions taken during his career leading one of aviation’s most respected brands,” the publisher said.
In a post on LinkedIn, Joyce said he had two motivations for writing the book, which he described as being about resilience and “what it actually feels like to lead through a crisis when there is no playbook”.
“The first was to set the record straight on what actually happened during my career: the Global Financial Crisis, the grounding of the Qantas fleet in 2011, the industrial battles, the unrelenting public scrutiny, and the period that brought global travel to a standstill: COVID-19,” he said.
“So much was written and said in real time. I wanted to tell it as it actually unfolded, in the room, under pressure, with every decision carrying enormous consequences for tens of thousands of people.
“The second reason was more personal. I wanted to encourage young leaders to learn from my successes and my failures, because I think that’s where the real lessons sit.
“I grew up in a working-class home in Dublin, the son of a cleaner and a factory worker, and I found my way out through numbers: mathematics, then management science, and eventually into the complex and volatile world of aviation.”
Joyce also said the book would touch on the connections he had made during his career, which spanned Aer Lingus, Ansett and Jetstar before being appointed Qantas CEO at age 42, a position he would hold until his retirement in 2023.
“During nearly three decades in aviation leadership, I had the privilege of working with some of the giants of the industry,” he said.
“And as CEO of Qantas, I worked alongside some extraordinary people whose advice, courage and commitment I will always cherish. This story belongs to them too.”
Alan Joyce was the keynote speaker at last year’s Australian Aviation Summit in Sydney.
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