Qatar Airways to buy 25 per cent of Virgin Australia

Subject to approvals by the Foreign Investment Review Board, the ACCC, and others, the new investment will allow Virgin to launch flights from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, to Doha by plugging into Qatar Airways’ global network.

In a joint release, the airlines said it would open up more than 100 new connections across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for Aussie travellers.

The minority stake was also hailed as a “cornerstone investment” ahead of Virgin Australia’s return to public ownership.

“This partnership brings the missing piece to Virgin Australia’s longer-term strategy and is a huge vote of confidence in Australian aviation,” Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said.

“Importantly, it will further strengthen Virgin Australia’s ability to compete over the long term, which will inevitably translate into more choice and even better value airfares for consumers as well as additional Australian aviation jobs.”

Hrdlicka said the proposed new long-haul services between Australia and Doha were estimated to bring $3 billion to the Australian economy in the next five years.

Qatar Airwars Group CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said the investment was aimed at delivering “the best possible service and value” to Australians.

“Not only that, we believe competition in aviation is a good thing and it helps raise the bar, ultimately benefiting customers,” he said.

“This agreement will also help support Australian jobs, businesses and the wider economy.”

Qatar Airways is one of the world’s largest airlines and was named the world’s best by Skytrax for the eighth time earlier this year.

Virgin Australia exited voluntary administration in 2020 after it was acquired by investors Bain Capital.