Virgin Australia Begins 4th Boeing 777 Route Using Qatar Airways Aircraft

virgin australia has begun its fourth and final passage to Doha. It took off on 1 December From Melbourne to the Middle EastThe beginning of summer and the beginning of Christmas and New Year. It joins Virgin’s flights to the Gulf hub from Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, which all began in June.

Many countries still have bilateral air services agreements, which determine the extent and nature of market access. Qatar and Australia are no exceptions. As Qatar Airways has used half of its traffic rights, its capacity to expand has been greatly reduced. Thus, it is using Virgin and previously unused Australian half rights to increase its presence. And because Virgin no longer has its own widebodies, it is using the Gulf operator’s Boeing 777-300ER and crew. It is increasing market access through the backdoor.

Virgin from Melbourne to Doha

long way from melbourne Covers a distance of 6,453 nautical miles (11,951 km) in each direction. With a block time of up to 14 hours 15 minutes, it is far from the list of Australia’s top ten longest flights. Virgin serves the market in two categories per day, 354-seat 777-300ERThe airline’s schedule shows flights arriving in Doha shortly before midnight, This complements Qatar Airways’ service around that time, doubling capacity to provide onward services to Europe and the Middle East,

Virgin’s first departure deployed, according to Flightradar24 A7-BEKWhat CH-Aviation shows is an 8.4 year old frame. Echo Kilo was deployed from Doha to Melbourne bangkok, Landing in Victoria on the morning of 1 December. However, the specific frame will vary from day to day.

Of course, Qatar Airways was not keen to expand its Australian footprint. It was to become a larger, stronger and more competitive power, including the Emirates. Qatar Airways and Virgin have triple-daily flights between Doha and Melbourne. It is not a coincidence that Emirates has three daily nonstop services from Dubai to Melbourne.

Qatar Airways and Virgin have triple daily Melbourne service

The table shows how flights are coordinated for connectivity at Doha. Note Virgin’s schedule with flights departing from the Gulf hub 1:50 amIts timing is so that Qatar Airways’ large number of flights from Europe and the Middle East, which arrive around midnight, can seamlessly connect to Melbourne,

Until November, Qatar Airways flights departed at exactly the same time. However, since that time is now in Virgin’s hands, Qatar Airways has decided on a new schedule. One of the carrier’s daily services now departs from Doha 8:15 amThis is only the second time in history that flights to Melbourne have departed from Doha around the same time,

The 8:15 am departure from Doha helps the carrier gain additional market share from Europe and the Middle East. However, there were only a few European flights at the time, although they included destinations from Biggest Market, London Heathrow as well as other major cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, ​​Berlin, Frankfurt, Madrid, Manchester and Rome. Middle Eastern arrivals include Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Dubai, Jeddah and Tehran, which are well-trafficked markets for Melbourne.

Qatar Airways returns to Australia’s capital

let’s pay attention to this 8:15 am Departure from Doha. This service has been expanded canberraThat city previously saw the frame of Qatar Airways in 2020, when flights were operated through Sydney.

The airline’s first flight to Canberra in 2025 took place on 1 December, coinciding with the new triple daily United offering to Melbourne. After landing in Victoria at 5:45 am, QR988 departs for Canberra at 7:15 am, arriving at 8:20 am local time. QR989 then departs the nation’s capital at 12:30 pm, arriving in Melbourne at 1:45 pm local time. After this the flight will leave for Doha at 4:10 pm.

The extension to Canberra replaces Adelaide, which was flown until 30 November. This disparity is due to regulatory reasons. Qatar Airways does not want to serve Canberra. Instead, OneThe World member can only increase flights to major Australian cities (in this case, Melbourne) if it continues to fly to a smaller city (in this case, Canberra). The tag-on means it can serve Melbourne twice daily. If it didn’t have a tag-on, it would be limited to a much less competitive daily offering.