Flight Centre boss predicts chaos at Christmas as flights sell out

Sellout flights across the festive season means some countries are already off limits for desperate Aussie travellers.

Travellers are being warned to brace for Christmas chaos at Australia’s airports with Flight Centre boss Graham Turner declaring a lack of plane seats had already put some countries off limits.

The boss of the Queensland travel behemoth said limited air capacity to and from Australia would not ease until next year, but predicts more seats will be available in October and November.

“Prices will come off (but) if anyone is travelling at Christmas in premium classes they will have trouble getting a seat,” he said.

“Asia, particularly Japan and China, is a problem, rule it out.

“(The) UK and Europe are very popular, and are not a bad option at Christmas.

“With UK and Europe, if you can get seats they will be pretty good around Christmas.”

Mr Turner said customers were trying to make the most of their limited holiday time after two years of border closures, however challenges remain.

“There is a serious capacity problem for people – particularly over the Christmas holidays … and the first thing they’ll have trouble with is getting a seat … the second thing is they’ll tend to be quite expensive,” he said.

The travel boss tipped the Christmas rush would be the last rough patch for the industry before frequent cancellations and delays become “a thing of the past” in the new year.

Flight Centre founder Graham Turner tips limited aircraft capacity to and from Australia won’t east until next year. Photography David Kelly

It comes as Flight Centre scrambles to reopen 11 Queensland stores after two years in hibernation.

Stores shuttered at Lutwyche, Yeppoon, Warwick, Ascot, Noosa, Maryborough, Whitsundays, Greenslopes, Cleveland, Ashgrove and Bulimba during the Covid-19 pandemic are slated to open before the end of 2022.

“It’s good to have them coming back, again it’s the same issue of making sure we can staff them,” Mr Turner said.

He said the company was continuing to recruit up to 300 staff each month despite the tight labour market.

Flight Centre recorded a net loss of $286.7m in the 2022 financial year, narrowed from a $433.1m loss in the previous period.

Chairman Gary Smith said the company is well-placed to recover from the pandemic.

“Had we made more significant cost cuts, we could potentially have returned to profit sooner, but we would have jeopardised our ability to capitalise on what is – hopefully – a one-off growth opportunity during the post-pandemic rebound,” he said.