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Virgin Australia has completed the June rollout of its initial three routes to Qatar with the launch of its service from Perth.
The inaugural flight VA21 left for Doha just after 3:45pm Perth time on Thursday aboard the wet-leased Qatar Airways 777-300ER A7-BEL. The launch follows Sydney and Brisbane earlier this month, with Melbourne flights to commence in December.
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“These flights mark the beginning of a new era for Virgin Australia and for international travel from Australia,” said Virgin Australia chief executive Dave Emerson.
“Through our partnership with Qatar Airways, we’re not just launching new routes – 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.”
Qatar Airways Group CEO Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said the launch is “a significant evolution of Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways’ partnership”.
“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 launch of Perth–Doha services comes days after Virgin Australia’s successful IPO, which saw the airline relist on the ASX after a five-year absence.
Speaking to media after the bell-ringing ceremony, Emerson said the Doha services would provide a useful test bed for a potential Virgin return to long-haul services with its own planes.
“Now that we’ve launched the flying in partnership with Qatar, we’ll have a real window into what the performance of long-haul flying is today, and we’ll be able to use that to put together our own numbers and see whether we can justify the capital of investing and going into long-haul,” he said.
“That process will take some time, and we’ll look at it over the next couple years and make a decision.”
Virgin’s Doha services are currently operating normally after disruptions earlier in the week caused by Iranian strikes on a US base in Qatar, which forced the country to briefly close its airspace.
The airline is offering free booking changes or cancellations to customers on Doha flights up to 30 June who no longer wish to travel.
