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Qatar Airways aircraft and crew could fly up to 28 extra services per week from Australia to Doha as part of its proposed deal to acquire 25 per cent of Virgin, Australian Aviation can reveal.
The revelation comes just over a year after Transport Minister Catherine King controversially blocked the expansion of Qatar flights into major Australian airports. Qatar had asked the government for an extra 21 flights per week.
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The deal to take a stake in Virgin effectively circumvents the need to require government approval because the flights would be technically serviced by domestic carrier Virgin Australia, which would be wet-leasing the aircraft and crew from the overseas airline.
Under Australia’s bilateral air service agreements with Qatar, Qatari carriers are permitted up to 28 flights per week into Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth; as the agreement is reciprocal, Australian carriers such as Virgin are also permitted 28 flights per week from these airports to Doha.
Additionally, the agreements allow up to seven extra flights per week to the four major airports “provided such services operate via or beyond to a point in Australia other than Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney”, and unrestricted flights non-stop to airports other than those four.
No Australian airlines currently operate flights from Australia to Doha, and any bid to use this capacity would be subject to approval from the International Air Services Commission (IASC); there may also be labour considerations around the use of Qatari crews under a wet-lease deal.
Qatar Airways has been seeking an expansion of its current 28 weekly flights into Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, with Federal Transport Minister Catherine King last year controversially knocking back an application.
The carrier’s bid for 25 per cent of Virgin, which still needs approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board, as well as its plan to wet-lease planes to Virgin for flights to Doha, could provide a way around the restrictions in the bilateral agreements.
Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the wet-leasing would allow Virgin to “put its toe in the water” on resuming international wide-body flights, and said the investment by Qatar would bring “significant benefits to Australian travellers and the economy”.
“I am super proud of the entire team at Virgin Australia. Together they have done a wonderful job getting Virgin Australia back into a healthy, long term competitive position that has attracted the world’s best airline as a prospective investor. Every member of our team has contributed to this terrific outcome,” Hrdlicka said.
Mike Murphy, partner at Virgin’s parent company Bain Capital, said Bain was pleased that Virgin had attracted a significant investor in Qatar Airways.
“Over the past four years, we’ve had the privilege of working alongside a team that has shown the dedication and tenacity needed to revitalise the airline,” Murphy said.
“After a decade of losses resulting in administration, Virgin Australia has emerged as a strong and profitable company with an attractive market position, a loyal customer base, and a promising growth trajectory.”
Virgin exited the international widebody market after its administration in 2020 and has since focused on domestic and short-haul international with a fleet of mostly 737s.
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says:When considering competition, who could object to the proposal and, even if QF objects, they do not have the equipment to match or come anywhere near the proposal so, come on down Qatar.