With Flight Centre Group’s AGM taking place recently, MD Graham ”Skroo” Turner said he was optimistic for the medium term outlook for the business, but that he did not expect the company to become profitable until the second half of 2021.
He advised the AGM that Flight Centre had a new contract with Virgin Australia and an extended agreement with Qantas, before agreeing a longer term agreement, with Flight Centre having engaged closely with key partners, saying now more than ever, suppliers need volume and Flight Centre will have the capacity, distribution and marketing expertise to deliver it.
A key strategy for Turner appears to be rejuvenating the Flight Centre brand, including the introduction and acceleration of a central sales centre model and investments in digital commerce, with Turner also providing details on Flight Centre’s liquidity, currently holding $560 million in client funds owed to suppliers. He added that further reductions in Flight Centre’s work force may still take place, if the current travel restrictions remain in place and the Government withdraws its current levels of support.
Flight Centre also revealed results of its leisure customer research, with almost 60% considering booking international in the next 12 months once travel restrictions are lifted and only 3.6% saying they do not intend to travel, with these numbers potentially reflecting the massive pent-up demand that exists for travel.
Over 50% said they were hoping to travel interstate, with Queensland scoring 47% as the destination of choice and one in five respondents considering a cruise, 8% a domestic voyage and 9% an international voyage.
A report by John Alwyn-Jones
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