Qatar Airways Gets Final Approval To Buy a 25% Stake in Virgin Australia

In surprising news, we learned last year that Qatar Airways wanted to buy a minority stake in Virgin Australia. The latter airline has struggled to recover since COVID-19 axed many of its flight routes.

The most interesting aspect of this investment is that Virgin Australia’s biggest domestic competitor is a Oneworld partner of Qatar Airways. And until now, there were questions about whether Australia’s government would approve this foreign investment in a domestic airline, given Qatar Airways’ state ownership.

Now, the deal has been approved by Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission, giving the final approval this deal needed. Here’s the latest on the Qatar-Virgin Australia linkup.

Qatar Airways Approved To Buy a Minority Stake in Virgin Australia

Qatar Airways, one of the most highly regarded airlines in the world, is a member of the Oneworld alliance. Also a member of Oneworld? Qantas, a chief domestic competitor of Virgin Australia.

Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia have had a codeshare relationship since 2022, so they aren’t strangers. However, this new investment will take things further, providing increased access to passengers from both airlines, thanks to additional connection opportunities. Australian travelers would gain access to more than 100 destinations served by Qatar Airways.

The new agreement will also include a wet lease for Virgin Australia, providing wide-body jets in mid-2025 to help Virgin Australia resume long-haul flights.

Under the new proposal, Qatar Airways will buy a 25% minority stake in Virgin Australia, buying from Bain Capital for an undisclosed price. The Australian government has given final approval to the deal, which Qatar Airways says provides “the green light for Virgin Australia’s 28 new weekly flights between Australia and Doha” through a wet-lease from Qatar Airways.

What This Means for Travelers

The airlines believe this new partnership and Qatar Airways’ investment in Virgin Australia will help create jobs and support Australian aviation at large. It also could help spur competition in Australia’s domestic market. Virgin Australia’s CEO also believes it could bring an additional $2.06 million (USD) of benefits to the Australian economy over the next 5 years, thanks to increased visitor traffic.

But what would this investment mean for travelers? First, Australian travelers will gain access to 100 new destinations through seamless connections on Qatar Airways. Moreover, Virgin Australia will begin long-haul flights to Doha, Qatar, on June 11, subject to final approval from the International Air Services Commission (IASC). Flights will operate from Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.

The airlines are also hinting at “increased earn and redemption opportunities for members of Velocity and Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club, and broader access to great value fares for leisure travellers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate customers.” What will those earning and redemption opportunities look like? We’ll have to wait and see.

And as Virgin Australia is able to compete more with other airlines — domestically and within Oceania — it may lead to additional fare sales, which travelers should love.

Final Thoughts

The airlines, their unions, and the Australian government are on board with the plan for Qatar Airways to buy a 25% minority stake in Virgin Australia. What this partnership will look like in practice, after it’s finalized, remains to be seen. The biggest questions at this point revolve around the benefits, mileage earnings, and redemption opportunities for flyers. However, the government signatures required for the deal to move forward are all finished.