Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group’s profit-before-tax (PBT) jumped
131% in the 12 months ending June 30, to $217 million (AU$320 million) with its
global corporate business delivering the bulk of that growth.
“It’s been a robust year for the corporate pillar of the
Flight Centre Travel Group with our flagship brands of Corporate Traveller and
FCM Travel delivering record Total Transaction Value (TTV) in a sector that has
only recovered to circa 80% of pre-COVID transaction volumes,” said Chris
Galanty, global corporate CEO of Flight Centre Travel Group, in a statement
regarding the fiscal year 2024 numbers.
“This result has been driven by high customer retention
rates and a large pipeline of new account wins, some of which have yet to be
fully implemented, so we’ll see the benefits of these flow over the coming
months once they begin trading.”
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The company’s TTV reached a record $16 billion (AU$23.74
billion), above its result in 2019, and its global corporate business brought a
44% underlying PBT increase.
Galanty called out the company’s AI
Centre of Excellence, which launched in December, as a key part of the
company’s growth in corporate travel.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
At Phocuswright Europe, Adrian Lopez, who leads the AI Centre of Excellence, shared details of the company's work during a panel discussion with Booking.com CTO Rob Francis. Watch the full discussion below.
Better Travel with AI? Phocuswright Europe 2024