“A promising year”: Flight Centre Travel Group reports record revenue

Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) reported record revenue this week, signalling continued growth in the leisure and business travel sectors.

Sharing its fiscal year results, the Brisbane-based agency group says it processed a record $23.7 billion (Australian) in travel bookings, marking an increase of eight per cent year-over-year.

The company generated an underlying profit after tax that was twice as much as last year ($229 million Australian dollars).

The group’s global corporate travel business also saw a 44 per cent increase in its underlying profit before tax to $211 million (Australian), with its Corporate Traveller brand delivering record profits.

Leisure travel agencies, meanwhile, saw profits more than double to about $188 million Australian. Cost discipline remains a focus at the group, with the operating cost base 15 per cent below 2019’s level.

Canada’s emerging SME market

In a statement, Chris Lynes, Canada managing director at Flight Centre Travel Group, said it has been “a promising year,” highlighted by growth and innovation.

“The continued success of our corporate and leisure divisions has enabled us to gain increased market share and strategically expand our footprint across the country,” Lynes stated.

Throughout the last year, Corporate Traveller has focused on streamlining operations and optimizing efficiency. This, Lynes said, has allowed the company to “accelerate growth and further tap into Canada’s emerging SME market.”

“We continue to win new business across several different sectors, while strengthening our relationships and driving value for our existing clients,” Lynes sad.

Flight Centre’s year has seen examples of innovation, from the customer adoption of Corporate Traveller’s digital platform, Melon, to the debut of an “AI Centre of Excellence,” a global division designed to integrate artificial intelligence technologies into the operations of corporate business.

The company has also pivoted in the travel advisor space with the recent launch of Envoyage, a rebrand of Independent by Flight Centre.  

In Canada, Envoyage will bring a “global ecosystem of offerings and options” to agents and agency owners, who are entrepreneurs in their own right, while maintaining a strong Canadian support network, said Anita Emilio, vice-president and general manager as Envoyage Canada, speaking to PAX in February. 

Agencies will have a true “home,” Emilio said, and access to a one-stop shop that unlocks FCTG’s vast portfolio of products and technology.

READ MORE: Independent By Flight Centre is rebranding as “Envoyage." VP & GM Anita Emilio explains what this means

“With Envoyage already poised for growth in the year ahead, our renewed focus on the independent sector will set us up for even more success going forward,” the company said.

The company says it will also increase its presence in priority cities through its flagship Flight Centre leisure brand, which serves the broader travel market across Canada.

“Given our recent momentum, along with our decorated history of innovation, we’re excited about the upcoming year and the future potential of the business in Canada,” Lynes said.

“A robust year”

In a statement, Chris Galanty, global corporate CEO, Flight Centre Travel Group, called it a “robust year for the corporate pillar” of Flight Centre Travel Group.

The positive results have been driven by high customer retention rates and a large pipeline of account wins, “some of which have yet to be fully implemented,” Galanty said.

“We’ll see the benefits of these flow over the coming months once they begin trading,” Galanty said.

FCM Travel transaction volumes rose by 10 per cent year on year as the business continues to win and service large multi-national and enterprise-level accounts, while Corporate Traveller delivered a record profit globally as it won managed and unmanaged SME and start-up accounts, Galanty added.

“Our blend of exceptional people and innovative technology continues to set us apart with both dedicated travel consultants and managers joining forces with the mass adoption of Corporate Traveler’s Melon online booking tool in the Northern Hemisphere and FCM Platform globally. We’ve continued to invest, and this year saw us launch our global corporate-specific AI Centre of Excellence that’s revolutionizing customer service, empowering our agents through smart automation, and is a key driver as we remain on track to deliver our Productive Operations project,” Galanty said.

The company says it has also taken time to understand the pain points of customers.

"We’ve made significant investments to solve these problems – this has since allowed us to generate new revenue streams – meaning that we ultimately stay ahead of the curve,” Galanty stated.

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