Flight Centre plans changes to stores, product

After entering the Canadian travel marketplace 20 years ago, Flight Centre is planning some big changes to its business model.

Gavin Miller, Flight Centre’s VP - leisure for Canada, told PAX that with 20th anniversary celebrations just beginning, the time has come to unveil the new model for the company, which will begin to offer its own product (in addition to those currently sold at Flight Centre stores in Canada), while introducing a new look to its stores. In addition to the tangible changes, Miller said that customers will also notice an “emotional and psychological” shift in the brand.

“We’re calling this our journey from travel agent to world-class retailer,” Miller explained. “If you take our business model, which has been successful for so long, we’ve been a success from being a middleman between the airlines, the hotels, the travel providers and our customers. But it’s time for us to take a bit more control of the product that we sell and not just sell on behalf of someone else, but own our own product line and the distribution and supply chain, so we’ll be able to give our customers more unique and special product than you can get anywhere else.”

The change is rolling out company-wide, Miller said, matching the model currently found in the U.K., Australia and in Liberty Travel (Flight Centre’s U.S. sister brand). Four flagship stores will open in Canada within the next year, first in Toronto, followed by Vancouver and Calgary. These flagship locations will feature function spaces for meetings and customer events.

“This journey started a couple year ago and our U.K. business is already a couple years ahead, as is the Australian business,” he said. “Now it’s time for Canada to catch up. We’re going to be having some heavy investment this year in storefronts, new locations and bricks-and-mortar. While a lot of our competitors and other agencies are closing their doors and shutting down and moving toward an online transaction, we’re investing in shopfronts and new sales experts and that experience which customers can have in our stores.”

In terms of product, Miller said that Flight Centre will continue to feature its current offerings while adding some of its own product lines. In addition to its airfare offers, Miller said that Flight Centre will move into three different travel lines, including City Breaks, consisting of weekend getaways to destinations like New York or Las Vegas; Escapes, which Miller described as the annual vacation to a sun destination, ski resort or cruise; and Journeys, the once-in-a-lifetime adventures to far-flung international destinations lasting more than two weeks.

“What you’ll see on our journey to becoming a retailer is that we’re moving to owning particular product lines,” he said. “There are four key product lines we feel are incredibly important to the Canadian traveller, and we want to be the experts in those. At any point in time, travellers have three different trips planned in their minds.”

With all of its products, Miller said Flight Centre will differentiate itself through exclusive offers and benefits.

“People want that human interaction and the best price, but it’s also about getting value and benefits you can’t get anywhere else,” he explained. “When you buy an airfare with us, it comes with 24/7 customer assist from anywhere in the world. If it’s an Escapes product, you may get added resort credits or benefits or services, such as a meet and greet with particular individuals, who could explain the destination and point out the things you like to see and do. There’s nothing more frustrating than driving back to the airport and seeing a neighbourhood that you want to visit but didn’t know existed.”

In addition to the big changes, Miller said the anniversary celebrations will culminate on July 1 and continue throughout the year.

“We’ll start our celebrations on June 10 and it will culminate on Canada Day," he said. "Expect to see a lot of marketing and making a big fanfare of what we offer, ending in a great sale on July 1. Throughout the next 12 months, we’ll celebrate our birthday and there will be lots of presence from us. We really want to interact with our customers and share in this milestone.”