An alliance between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways has officially been given the green light by the competition watchdog, doubling the number of flights from Australia to Doha for the next five years.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has today authorised the partnership between the two airlines.
The airlines will operate 28 new weekly return flights between Doha and Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Virgin will use a Qatar aircraft and crew, which will fly under a Virgin flight number, for the duration of the five-year agreement.
Flights will commence from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in June and from Perth in November.
The public will reap the benefits through greater flight capacity and lower ticket prices, according to ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey.
“This will likely place downward price pressure on these routes and will also give customers of Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways a greater choice of international flights with additional connectivity and loyalty program benefits,” she said.
The watchdog said the agreement is not expected to have any negative effect on the domestic aviation workforce.
“We consider it unlikely that Virgin Australia or any other Australian airline would commence operating Australia-Doha services on a standalone basis in the next five years, even if the conduct was not authorised,” Brakey said.
Virgin’s current agreements with South African Airways and Virgin Atlantic will be unchanged.
Virgin and Qatar lodged an application to engage in the alliance on October 11 and an interim authorisation was granted in November, allowing the airlines to make all the necessary arrangements to formalise their deal.
Tickets for the flights, beginning in June, were sold from December.
In February, Qatar Airways bought a 25 per cent stake in Virgin – a move backed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who said it would deliver economic benefits including job creation, support for the tourism industry and building Australia as a key travel hub.
Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways have been contacted for comment.
