Flight Centre share price edges lower despite 'important step'

The ASX travel company is making some changes at the top.

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Key points
  • The Flight Centre share price is in the red today 
  • The travel company has just announced a leadership restructure 
  • Flight Centre is not the only ASX travel share struggling today 

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price is slipping today amid a company leadership restructure.

The travel company's shares are currently swapping hands at $19.20 apiece, a 1.03% fall. The Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) share price is also down 0.53% at the time of writing while Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) is trading flat.

Let's take a look at what is happening at Flight Centre.

A girl holds a ticket and a passport in either hand and has a confused, vexed look on her face as though she is unsure.

Image source: Getty Images

Leadership changes

Flight Centre has made changes to the company's global leadership structure. The travel company's leisure and supply CEO Melanie Waters-Ryan will now be responsible for supply only. Flight Centre said this is due to the "post-pandemic travel rebound" gaining momentum.

Meanwhile, James Kavanagh will take on the role of global leisure CEO. Chris Galanty will stay on as the global corporate CEO.

Commenting on the changes, CEO and managing director Graham Turner said:

This is an important step in our business's evolution and means we will now have dedicated CEOs responsible for each of our three business divisions – corporate travel, leisure travel and supply.

Having three senior executives focussed solely on these key areas will help ensure we successfully execute our growth strategies and capitalise on opportunities across all areas of the business during the post-pandemic recovery, which is now well and truly underway.

Flight Centre remains within the top 10 shorted shares on the ASX this week, with a short interest of 17.6%. My Foolish colleague James reported short-sellers appear to think the market is too optimistic about the travel market recovery.

Flight Centre share price snapshot

The Flight Centre share price has jumped nearly 4% in the last year but has surged more than 9% year to date.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) index has returned 9% over the past year.

In the past month, Flight Centre shares have jumped nearly 6% while they have climbed almost 2% in the past week.

The company has a market capitalisation of about $3.8 billion based on the current share price.

The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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