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Australia's Qantas Airways said Tuesday it would buy a 51% stake in online travel agency TripADeal for an undisclosed amount, as it seeks to tap a recovery in demand for packaged holidays. Easing COVID-19 restrictions and a rebound in leisure travel have triggered a boom in the online holiday booking market over recent months. The deal includes a provision for Qantas to take full control of TripADeal in four years and is expected to add to the national flag carrier's earnings goals for full-year 2024. It would allow frequent flyers under the airline's loyalty division to use their points for any TripADeal holiday package, the Sydney-based company said. Qantas Loyalty was targeting a return to double-digit growth in 2022 and an underlying earnings before income tax of A$500m ($354.85 million) to A$600m by fiscal 2024, it added. Earlier this month, Qantas announced its decision to buy the remaining stake in Alliance Aviation Services for A$610.8m to expand its presence in the charter business. <br/>

Qantas has reinstated four routes to New Zealand to keep up with growing passenger demand, ahead of the country’s busy winter ski season. It comes after New Zealand reopened its international borders to Australian citizens on 12 April, and later similarly eased entry restrictions to tourists from dozens of visa-waiver countries on 1 May, scrapping quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated arrivals. On Monday, Qantas resumed flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Wellington, as well as its Sydney-Queenstown and Melbourne-Christchurch services. Meanwhile, its Brisbane-Christchurch service will resume on Tuesday, 24 May. The airline noted that all newly reinstated flights into New Zealand from Australia on Monday were at full capacity, highlighting the current demand for trans-Tasman travel. Meanwhile, Flight QF121 from Sydney to Queenstown marked the first international flight to arrive at the airport in 330 days and was met with a water salute.<br/>