From MEL to LAX: Margita Sherer on 70 Years of Qantas in North America

This year marks 70 years of Qantas flying from Australia to North America. Right now, people fly 14 or 15 hours and we think it’s forever! But when we started, it took 30 or so hours, although I’m a bit jealous of the route they chose because they stopped at fun places – Fiji and Hawaii.

The day we welcomed the very first A380 at Los Angeles International Airport in 2008, the whole airport was celebrating with us. It was the first time I drove the passenger jet bridge and, wow, what a ship to drive it to – it was incredible! To see that beautiful aircraft roll in the gate, all brand-new and shiny. Everybody stopped and watched in awe. I was invited on the celebratory flight across California, hosted by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, who proudly wore our Qantas uniforms.

There’s no such thing as a typical day at LAX. My role involves ensuring every component of the daily operation runs smoothly and safely for our customers. I work with our customer service team and everyone from ground service providers, baggage operations, catering and cleaning teams to engineering, freight, ops control, airport authorities, our head office, and flight and cabin crew. There’s never a dull moment. You have to put yourself in other people’s shoes, whether it’s the engineers working hard to get a plane off the ground or customers dealing with a disruption. Unless you can put yourself in their shoes, you can’t make those decisions properly.

I moved to LA from Melbourne as an intern 22 years ago and it’s my favourite place to return to. Melbourne is dear to my heart. My family is there, and I love the parks and the Botanic Gardens. It’s different every time you go.

Margita Sherer
Airport Duty Manager, Los Angeles International Airport