Qatar Airways intends to almost double its flights to Australia by the middle of 2025, unlocking greater choice for travellers headed to Europe and the UK for the northern summer.
And those flights could go on sale as soon as December, pending a tentative green light from the Australian government’s consumer watchdog.
The additional flights are a cornerstone of a ‘proposed integrated alliance’ between Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia, which would also see the Gulf carrier take a 25% stake in Virgin.
A timetable detailed in the airlines’ joint submission to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) indicates how Qatar Airways would grow its Australian network.
From June 2025,
Sydney would see two daily flights, up from the current one
Melbourne would see three daily flights, up from the current two (one of which also flies to Adelaide)
Brisbane would see two daily flights, up from the current one
Perth’s doubling to two daily flights would “follow in November 2025 due to limited availability of suitable widebody aircraft.”
It’s expected the new flights will rely heavily on Qatar Airways’ high-capacity Boeing 777 jets, which in turn will include free super-fast WiFi.
As previously reported, those flights will rely on Qatar Airways aircraft and crew leased to Virgin Australia and operating under a native VA flight number, although they will also carry a QR codeshare and for all intents and purposes be Qatar Airways flights.
The ACCC plans to issue an “interim authorisation” in November 2024, with a “draft determination” in January/February 2025 and a “final determination” in March 2025. Qantas has already indicated it will not oppose the Qatar-Virgin tie-up.
Virgin and Qatar are pushing for the ACCC to make a favourable interim ruling “by the end of November 2024 to allow sufficient lead time for Virgin Australia to commence flying its new Australia–Doha services by June 2025.”
This includes the necessary runway
Qatar Airways targets more Australian flights by June 2025
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