The acquisition of Ticketek by Qantas could be delayed or off the table altogether after the airline giant faced the ACCC taking court action and having to answer a parliamentary committee over record profits during an inflation crisis.
In an attempt to restore the brand’s reputation, Qantas let go of its chief executive, Alan Joyce and appointed its first female CEO, but now, with the brand’s ethics called into question, spending on acquisitions will most likely be redirected to ways to make customers happy like flight sales and additional rewards.
Qantas may also shift away from buying the TEG Group, the owner of Ticketek, which would have also boosted its Qantas Frequent Flyer program with potential partner Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to instead spend the money where it needs it most, a massive marketing campaign.
In Australia and New Zealand, Ticketek is the biggest ticketing services provider by volume in the live events industry and could have raked in a cool $2.5 billion or more, which would have been a nice lift from the around $1.2 billion three years ago by Silver Lake, the current owner.
The strategy for the national airline carrier will most likely be adjusted from making purchases like last year’s buy of a 51% stake in online travel agency TripADeal to more client-focused endeavours.
Specifically, the TripADeal merger was to be valuable, focusing on a “burn and earn strategy” for its consumers regarding their Qantas Frequent Flyer points, reported The Australian.
As for the future of the Qantas leadership team, analysts expect chairman Richard Goyder will stay on with Joyce exits. Otherwise, it would shake things up too much and cause too much uncertainty for both of them to depart together.