Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) has confirmed plans to launch a new leisure loyalty program, set to roll out in the first half of the 2026 financial year.
The upcoming program will initially cover Flight Centre, Cruiseabout and Travel Associates in Australia, with plans to expand further.
When fully operational, it is predicted to generate a major new revenue stream for FCTG, create a better customer experience, and build long-term engagement and retention. Early investments in the program include system upgrades, specialist hires and consultancy support.
Record transactions, higher profit
The announcement comes as part of the company’s preliminary FY25 unaudited results, which show an expected record total transaction value (TTV) of $24.5 billion.
Underlying profit before tax (UPBT) is forecast between $285 million and $295 million, just shy of guidance, largely due to fourth-quarter challenges.
FCTG cited soft demand to the United States and Middle East unrest as key late-year factors impacting bookings.
The company also reported underperformance in Asia, where restructuring costs and system changes weighed on results.
FCTG says these challenges impacted both corporate and leisure segments, though travel to short-haul destinations like Fiji, Japan and New Zealand remained solid.
Leisure business TTV grew year-on-year but was largely driven by lower-margin brands. Reduced super over-rides and a shift in booking patterns also affected earnings.
In the corporate division, strong performance outside of Asia helped deliver profit growth, despite broader market softness and client downtrading.
In response to cyclical headwinds, the company says it is targeting enhanced operational efficiency via its new Global Business Services function and plans to cut capital expenditure by up to 20 per cent in FY26. It has also closed underperforming assets, including StudentUniverse and The Travel Junction.
AI focus
On the tech front, FCTG has doubled down on artificial intelligence.
Its AI Centre of Excellence is driving product innovation across brands, with a refreshed Sam virtual assistant for FCM and a new AI co-consultant currently on trial in the leisure space.
An agreement with AI firm Anthropic will provide access to the Claude at Work enterprise platform, designed to deliver productivity gains and embed advanced AI into customer and agent-facing tools.
“FY25 has proven to be volatile year for our industry, with geopolitical unrest and macro-economic concerns slowing the strong post-COVID rebound,” FCTG Managing Director Graham Turner said.
“Within this challenging cycle, our diverse global brand network, which includes large-scale leisure and corporate businesses that capture a high percentage of recurring revenue from repeat and contracted customers, has again delivered record TTV – underlying the resilience of our global platform.
“To boost future profits, we have implemented comprehensive strategies to enhance performance and capitalise on the substantial opportunities ahead. Our brand and business portfolio and strong balance sheet position us well for accelerated growth as market conditions stabilise, while the investments we are making in technology, CX and operational efficiency are set to drive competitive advantage and superior shareholder returns.”
In early July, Flight Centre Travel Group staged its annual Flichella 2025 event, welcoming 4,000 Flighties from around Australia along with key suppliers to the Brisbane Showgrounds. Read our wrap of the event here.
Following this, FCTG’s all-stars convened in Los Angeles from 11–13 July for Global Gathering 2025, taking over LA with a stellar conference and events lineup to celebrate its people. Read more about that here.
