Doug Walker is still a dot-com dreamer.

Tripeze.com, his Calgary-based online travel agency, won’t show a profit for at least another year-and-a-half, but, at a time when investors are reluctant to plunk cash into tech companies, he is ambitiously looking for major deals. And he’s getting some.

After speaking to the CIO Summit on Monday, Walker told Business Edge that Tripeze has cut deals with Air Canada and Sabre, the online hotel and travel service booking system.

Tripeze and Air Canada are forming a new company that utilizes Tripeze’s online customer care technology and service. The system allows Air Canada passengers to get their answers over the phone or via e-mail, Web chat, and voice over IP.

“(Customer care) is a critical issue for Air Canada right now,” said Walker, whose Web site has had more than two million visitors since it launched in 1999. “They are under the microscope all the time.”

The deals come after former National Hockey League referee Bruce Hood, now the federal air passenger complaints commissioner, blew the whistle on Air Canada’s poor customer relations. But Walker said the deal with Air Canada, which still has to be signed, isn’t a result of Hood’s findings.

Walker said Air Canada will provide funds to roll out a Montreal office, add new technology and underwrite the operating cost.

“It’s partly technology that we’ve got, it’s also business processes,” said Walker.

Air Canada will be the majority partner in the new company.

“They’re doing most of the funding of it going forward, and then we will both bring other clients to bear,” said Walker, whose company, in wake of the tech market crash, reduced some marketing staff and deleted Web portals that weren’t generating revenue.

Meanwhile, the Sabre deal will allow Tripeze to get certain technology features to its Web platform sooner, giving customers seamless access. Walker said Sabre offered to pick up licensing and development costs so Tripeze didn’t jump ship to another booking system.

“It frees up capital, which is pretty precious these days, for us to put to work on other things instead,” said Walker, whose company has raised $14 million from Canadian and international players since 1999.

So, someone asked Monday, how does Tripeze make its money?

Well, it receives commissions on airline tickets, which it sells on consignment or buys at larger discounts and re-sells, and also generates revenue through Web site ads.

Walker said Tripeze will also soon announce a new Web site and deals with brand name travel suppliers who want to acquire proprietary rights to its home-grown technology.

Despite concerns about dot-coms, Walker said his company’s business has increased every quarter.

“It’s not at the standards of the bigger sites that have been around for a while . . . but the growth trend is there — and it’s exciting.”

Web Watch:

www.tripeze.com