News
Virgin Australia to restart long-haul operations in partnership with Qatar Airways
December 13th 2024
On December 12 Virgin Australia (VA), in partnership with Qatar Airways, opened bookings from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to Doha and onwards to more than 100 destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Read More » Pending final regulatory approval, VA will fly the long-haul schedules from next June with wet-leased Qatar Airways 777s equipped with the Qsuite Business Class. The airline plans to launch Melbourne-Doha later in 2025. “For Virgin Australia this [partnership] gives us the ability to re-start long-haul flying, which we have not been able to do in the past four and a half years. Our 28 new weekly services to Doha will open a world of opportunity for those wanting to travel overseas,” Virgin Australia Group CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, said. “We are proud to support Virgin Australia with their ambition to return to long-haul international flying, a crucial next step in their successful transformation program,” Qatar Airways Group CEO, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said. The Australian Airports Association described the VA announcement as “a big step forward for competition in Australian aviation”.
