ANALYSIS: A tie-up between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways will offer an additional 28 weekly flights between Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and Doha.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is poised to give the go-ahead to the proposed Virgin Australia-Qatar Airways integrated alliance for a five-year period.
The alliance will set in motion 28 return services a week between Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and Doha.
Under the wet-lease arrangement, Virgin Australia will use Qatar Airways’ aircraft and crew to operate the new services.
The ACCC said it considered the proposed alliance would likely result in public benefits and not be detrimental to the public’s interests.
“We consider the proposed cooperative conduct would likely result in several public benefits, including providing enhanced products and services for air travellers. [This] would include increased choice of international flights, with additional connectivity, convenience and loyalty program benefits for consumers,” ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said.
The new air services are subject to final regulatory approvals by the ACCC and other government bodies, and the commission is seeking feedback on this draft determination by March 7 before it makes a final decision.
The ACCC granted interim authorisation to Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways on November 29 2024 to enable them to commence marketing and selling the new Australia-Doha services.
When granting interim authorisation, the ACCC accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from both airlines that if any of the necessary final regulatory approvals were not granted, customers who had booked the proposed new services would be given the option of a refund or re-accommodation on a suitable alternative flight at no additional charge.
The undertaking also stipulated customers would be compensated for any reasonably foreseeable costs.
The ACCC acknowledged concerns raised by a number of parties that the proposed cooperative conduct would circumvent Australian workforce laws and regulations, and that the lack of time limits on the use of Qatar-based crew to operate the new services would have negative implications for the Australian aviation workforce.
However, Ms Brakey countered that by saying the ACCC considered Virgin Australia unlikely to start operating long-haul international services between Australia and the Middle East on a standalone basis in the next five years.
“In those circumstances, we do not consider that there is likely to be a material detrimental impact on the Australian aviation workforce as a result of the conduct,” Ms Brakey said.
Under the deal Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer members will continue to be able to earn and redeem Velocity points on Singapore Airlines-operated services globally, including to and from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Also, Virgin Australia’s arrangements with South African Airways and Virgin Atlantic will be unchanged.
The aircraft to be used will be Boeing 777-300ERs fitted with business-class Qsuites.
The first service, VA21, flies on June 25 at 3.20pm, arriving in Doha at 9.50pm. The return flight, VA22, will depart Doha at 7.50pm, arriving into Perth at 11.55am.
These timings work very well for a variety of connections into the US and Europe.
The configuration of the 777-300ER is 42 enclosed multi-award-winning Qsuites and 312 economy seats set at between 31 and 32 inches apart in a three-four-three configuration, although there are some rows where it is two-four-two and others where it is three-three-three.
It’s not a bad idea to check the seat maps to find your ideal seat.
Like many airlines, Qatar and Virgin Australia charge for premium economy seating or even for seat selection.
With the introduction of the Virgin Australia service, Qatar Airways will discontinue its daily A380s flight and replace with a Boeing 777-300ER, also fitted with Qsuites.
