Qatar Airways is set to give Australian travellers more choices and better value in 2025, thanks to its recent acquisition of a 25% minority stake in Virgin Australia. From mid-2025, Qatar Airways will launch additional daily flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, giving Australian travellers more choice when travelling to Europe and the UK.

Airfares are expected to be available for purchase in the next few weeks after the ACCC granted interim authorisation for Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways to cooperate on international flights. This means Virgin will resume long-range flying for the first time since early 2020, heading west to Doha, using aircraft and crew supplied by Qatar Airways. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will each receive one extra daily flight.

• Sydney - Doha will now have two daily flights
• Melbourne - Doha will have three daily flights (including the Adelaide - Melbourne flight)
• Brisbane - Doha will increase to two daily flights
• From November 2025, Perth will follow with two daily flights. This delay is due to the limited availability of suitable long-range aircraft.

The new flights will be operated under a VA flight number as part of a codeshare with Qatar Airways. This new partnership will connect Australian travellers to more than 100 destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the Qatar Airways network.

What To Expect

Onboard, guests will enjoy the world-class hospitality of Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777, recently voted the Best Airline in the World for the eighth consecutive year by Skytrax. Qatar Airways offers customers an unparalleled inflight experience, including free super-fast WiFi, fine dining, endless entertainment options, and, of course, the one-of-a-kind Qsuite for Business Class travellers. One of our travel consultants, Michelle, recently flew to Europe with Qatar. Take a closer look at the Qsuite and the inflight experience here.

How to Book

While the new flights are not available to book just yet, they will be available on both Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways ticket numbers. This is good news for Velocity members hoping to reach higher status, as the airline now requires a minimum amount of flights on a VA ticket. To book your next Business Class flight, contact our expert travel specialists or take a look at our latest deals.