A ground worker walking near a Qantas aircraft is seen from the international terminal at Sydney Airport, as countries respond to the new variant of the Omicron coronavirus amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic , in Sydney, Australia, November 29, 2021. REUTERS/ Loren Elliott

May 24 (Reuters) – Australia’s Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) said on Tuesday it would buy a 51% stake in online travel agency TripADeal for an undisclosed sum, as it seeks to operate a recovery in demand for package holidays.

The easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the rebound in leisure travel have sparked a boom in the online vacation booking market in recent months.

The deal includes a provision for Qantas to take full control of TripADeal in four years and is expected to contribute to the flag carrier’s revenue targets for the year 2024.

This would allow frequent flyers from the airline’s loyalty division to use their points towards any TripADeal vacation package, the Sydney-based company said.

Qantas Loyalty was targeting a return to double-digit growth in 2022 and underlying profit before income tax of A$500 million ($354.85 million) to A$600 million by then. fiscal year 2024, he added.

Earlier this month, Qantas announced its decision to buy the remaining stake in Alliance Aviation Services (AQZ.AX) for A$610.8 million to expand its presence in the charter business. Read more

($1 = 1.4090 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath

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