Helloworld‘s new boss, Andrew Burnes, is not impressed with Flight Centre at the moment, describing the company’s latest move as ‘disingenuous’.
The comment was made after Flight Centre opened up its wholesale products to external agents. The decision would allow agents, including those from helloworld, to book their the travel group’s products and deals. Read on.
While Flight Centre assured the move was to “work more closely with agents for mutual benefit”, Burnes says it was a “tremendously courageous assumption” by the travel group to think other consultants would “start actually booking” their product.
He continued, saying he couldn’t understand why the group would open its content rage when “they have done everything they possibly can to close out anyone else’s content range from being sold through their own retail distribution”.
“It’s no secret that Flight Centre are fiercely competitive in the retail, wholesale and corporate travel arenas and I don’t believe other agents are going to be fooled into feeding the hand that bites them.”
Andrew Burnes, helloworld CEO
“There isn’t a high street or shopping mall retail agent or consultant that isn’t in a battle with its nearest Flight Centre outlet and to imagine that those outlets and those consultants are going to start actually booking Flight Centre product is a tremendously courageous assumption.”
Burnes said that Flight Centre has deliberately excluded Helloworld wholesale businesses from being sold in its retail agencies and claims agents have been financially penalised in the past for selling Qantas Holidays and Sunlover Holidays products.
