Highlights:
- Qantas buys 51 per cent stake in fast-growing online travel business
- Plans close partnership with its loyalty scheme
- Qantas Loyalty gains further exposure to the huge online holiday booking market
Capitalising on the huge shift to online bookings for travel, Qantas announced buying a majority stake in the Queensland-based online travel booking platform TripADeal.
The national carrier plans to combine its loyalty program to the fast-growing $13 billion digital booking market, which is experiencing significant growth as leisure demand booms and the shift to e-commerce continues.
Also read: Australians Lead the Way in Digital Payment Use
There is a huge shift to booking online: Qantas CEO
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “This is a great opportunity. Coming out of the pandemic, people want a holiday experience that is special but also tried and tested, and there is a huge shift to booking online.
With continued investments in building Qantas Loyalty’s ecosystem across multiple sectors the membership is seeing significant growth.
Qantas Loyalty is targeting a double digit growth in 2022 and underlying EBIT of $500-$600 million by FY24.
As the market goes more competitive, enterprises are unleashing a range of measures aimed at improving customer experience and gaining loyalty.
Leading retailer Woolworths recently announced QR code enabled payments in its loyalty app. Aimed at improving shopping convenience, the new feature combines earning rewards with payments.
