Major online travel agency Webjet will take a hit on commissions after Virgin Australia said it would return to the holiday packages market under its own label.
The change by Virgin, which includes other Webjet commercial arrangements and is likely to impact other online travel businesses, will take effect from July 1.
Webjet, which on Wednesday released its full-year results, said that if the change had started at the start of 2026 it would have cost the group $3 million in underlying revenue.
Chief executive Katrina Barry said the impact of Virgin’s decision was substantial, although the carrier remains a “valued partner”.
“This does have a significant impact on our future commercials,” she told an earnings briefing.
Webjet, which mainly serves the Australian and New Zealand markets, provides digital platforms for consumers to plan and book flights, hotels, holiday packages, and car hires.
It went into a trading halt on Tuesday after Virgin’s announcement ahead of a return to normal trading on Wednesday.
Webjet posted a $3.5 million bottom-line net profit attributable to investors for the year ended March 31, up from a downwardly revised $2 million in 2025.
Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came to $28.1 million, down 20 per cent, on barely higher revenue of $136.4 million.
Total bookings for the year were already down, which Ms Barry said was disappointing, while noting that its domestic market fell by 10 per cent.
“That’s really very much reflecting the cost of living pressures and the elevated fares (being charged by airlines), which impact our mass market mortgage belt customers,” she said.
“International bookings are up (by one per cent) and that growth is now slightly skewed to short haul destinations in recent months, particularly around Asia Pacific destinations.”
Webjet is also facing artificial intelligence headwinds, which are threatening the broader online travel sector because it allows travellers to use the tool to make their own arrangements.
During its 2026 full year, Webjet launched predictive AI tools across flight searches to help it anticipate pricing and adjust prices to draw in customers, Ms Barry said.
“This is delivering real competitive pricing for our customers,” she said.
Virgin on Tuesday announced the launch of Virgin Australia Holidays, while citing YouGov research showing 75 per cent of travellers are more likely to book a holiday through their airline.
Webjet shares were sitting at 49 cents when the trading halt was called, giving it a market value of $192.3 million.
Webjet declared a second-half dividend of two cents per share, taking the total for the year to four cents.
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