TORONTO — Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) has recorded its second strongest start to a year, with $6 billion in Total Transaction Value (TTV) in the first quarter of 2023.

Following its recent Annual General Meeting (AGM), the company issued a business update to the Australian Securities Exchange that, in addition to $6b in Q1, included the following: 

• 1Q TTV increased about 20% – or more than AUD$900 million compared to the same period last year – to $6 billion, just below the record circa $6.2 billion result it delivered four years ago
• 1Q corporate TTV exceeded $3.1billion, another record, as the company continued to outpace the broader sector’s recovery, with activity across the industry globally reaching 72% of pre-COVID levels during the period (based on MIDT data for 1Q FY23 as a % of 1Q FY19)
• The organic growth that has fuelled the company’s rapid recovery to date has continued with FCM securing new, contracted accounts with projected annual spends in the order of $565million already this year.

“We’ve experienced unprecedented success in the first quarter (July-September 2023), of FY24 at the Flight Centre Travel Group, with an incredible increase in profits compared to the same period last year,” said Chris Lynes, Managing Director of Canada, Flight Centre Travel Group. “This growth is undeniable proof of our resilience, vision, and dominant position within the Canadian corporate travel sector, particularly among startups and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“No surprise here; Canada’s vibrant and dynamic business ecosystem consistently ranks among the world’s best markets for SMEs, a fact that has contributed to our soaring profits.”

Lynes also noted that with new data from Morgan Stanley confirming the continued growth of the corporate travel sector, FCTG remains confident in its future in Canada.

“Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary remain the top destinations for domestic corporate travellers, while international travel has seen an uptick in popularity for U.S. destinations like Las Vegas, Chicago, and New York City. Indeed, our nation’s business borders are growing ever wider.

“We’re off to an impressive start this first quarter of FY24, and the outlook for the remainder of the financial year is even more promising,” said Lynes.

Chris Galanty, Global Corporate CEO, Flight Centre Travel Group, said the company’s investments in both of its digital platforms – Melon in the U.S. and UK, and FCM Platform – are starting to pay off.

“All new FCM customers are now successfully implemented on the new Platform and all our existing customers will also be transferred by the end of the financial year.= Corporate Traveller’s Melon is also going from strength to strength, with more than 90 per cent of new customers in the U.S. integrated,” said Galanty. “There’s no question our new digital platforms have, and will continue to be, key differentiators when it comes to winning new customers. With our strong people-first approach, combined with successful technological investments to date, this really sets us apart.”