Flight Centre will continue to pursue its online and “blended model” strategy but stressed it will fundamentally remain a bricks and mortar retailer in the future.
The evolution to create a hybrid model, where consumers can “seamlessly” switch their booking between on and offline, comes as sales through flightcentre.com.au soared more than 20% in the 2013 financial year.
It said the blended model concept “gained momentum” during the year as “capabilities were enhanced across all sales channels”.
The ambition is to move from a “leisure and corporate travel agent to an innovative travel retailer”, the firm said.
Despite the online focus, managing director Graham Turner insisted that its shops and staff are the “heart of our business and are integral to our future plans”.
“Although FLT now provides leisure customers with online booking capabilities, it has built on the traditional web offering and does not see its future as an Online Travel Agent,” he said.
“Instead, FLT will deliver a blended access offering that draws on the strengths of the on and offline models and is seamlessly blended to give customers the convenience of all options when they plan and book their travel.”
The first two phases of the blended concept are been completed in Australia with the key third phase underway.
Flight Centre said phase three will involve the unveiling of “a fully integrated offering that allows customers to switch seamlessly across different devices and between sales channels”.
