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Virgin Australia has officially commenced its wet-leased services to Qatar, with its first flight leaving Sydney on Thursday.
The inaugural VA1 service took off for Doha shortly after 3pm using Qatar Airways’ 777-300ER A7-BET, marking the first long-haul international flight for Virgin since the carrier went into administration in 2020.
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The route will operate daily from Sydney, with Brisbane flights to commence on 19 June, Perth on 26 June, and Melbourne in December. In total, the Virgin services will increase seat capacity between Australia and Qatar to 2.65 million per year.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era for Virgin Australia and for international travel from Australia,” Virgin Australia chief executive, Dave Emerson, said.
“Through our partnership with Qatar Airways, we’re not just launching a new route — we’re opening the world to millions of Australians, delivering more choice, better value and a seamless global experience.
“This partnership strengthens Australia’s global connectivity while generating jobs, boosting tourism and injecting billions into the national economy.”
Virgin and Qatar Airways say the new services will generate more than $3 billion in economic activity within Australia over the next five years, with Qatar Airways Group CEO Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer saying it will also deliver more choice and an “elevated experience” to Australian customers.
“This milestone moment in the partnership between our two airlines is the culmination of many months of meticulous planning and tireless dedication of our respective teams, as well as a testament to our shared ambition to deliver increased competition, world-class service and value to Australian passengers,” he said.
The federal government earlier this year gave Qatar Airways the green light to buy 25 per cent of Virgin Australia, while the ACCC also signed off on the deal.
In a significant concession, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Virgin had agreed to explore dry lease options that could potentially see its own crew operate the flights within three years.
Under a “structured secondment program”, 20 pilots and 40 cabin crew will be sent to Doha this year to gain experience with long-haul flying, with their positions to be backfilled by 60 new Australian staff.
That came after Transport Minister Catherine King controversially rejected a separate attempt for Qatar to launch more international flights directly in 2023.
The promise to explore dry lease options, therefore, allowed the federal government to claim the new agreement was substantially different from the old one and head off criticism from Qantas.
Virgin is also set to return to the ASX on 24 June in a long-anticipated $685 million IPO.
