iscover
The federal government has given the green light for Qatar Airways to buy 25 per cent of Virgin Australia, a key step in enabling the launch of wet-leased flights to Doha.
However, 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.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
Qatar announced last year it would purchase a stake in the Australian airline and, as part of the agreement, would ‘wet lease’ aircraft and crew to Virgin so it could fly 28 services a week to the Middle Eastern country’s capital, with flights on sale now.
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.
The approval follows the ACCC backing the tie-up and comes 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 allows the federal government to claim the new agreement is substantially different to the old one, and head off criticism from Qantas.
“On the advice of the Foreign Investment Review Board, I have approved this proposal subject to legally enforceable conditions that ensure Australian representation on Virgin’s board and protection of its customer data,” Chalmers said.
“It will increase Virgin Australia’s capacity on key international routes and provides a long-term pathway for the airline to operate its own long-haul flights.
“The proposal is also expected to deliver broader economic benefits including more job creation in Australia, support for the tourism industry and enhancing Australia’s position as a key travel hub.”
Jayne Hrdlicka, chief executive of Virgin, welcomed the government’s approval, calling the deal a “huge vote of confidence in our business and Australian aviation more broadly”.
“This is a major win for Australian consumers, who are already benefiting from more choice and greater value when travelling to Europe, the Middle East and Africa since our flights went on sale in December. Domestically, we are competing well and performing stronger than at any other point in our 24-year history,” Hrdlicka said.
“Being backed by one of the world’s largest airlines now gives us the scale and access to industry expertise which will support continued growth in line with the market domestically, improve our ability to compete for key segments of the market and add momentum to our margin ambitions.”
The International Air Services Commission has yet to approve the capacity for Virgin to operate the flights, which have seen widespread support. The Transport Department has indicated they would be allowed under the current agreements.
[email protected]
says:This is a move that will stir the industry into a wider thought process, exciting! – The next interesting results will be who will follow Qatar as major investors in the IPO and, the Boss Lady’s hint, Virgin Link with a close look at REX.
Now we can have an election and move on.