Virgin Australia has expanded its international flight offerings by launching a new route from Brisbane to Doha. This move comes under the airline's partnership with Qatar Airways, marking their second destination following the Sydney-Doha route that commenced earlier this month. The new service utilizes Boeing 777-300ER aircraft wet-leased from Qatar Airways.
The collaboration between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways was made possible after receiving approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on March 27th. This agreement aims to establish three routes connecting Australia to Qatar in June, with a fourth route from Melbourne set to launch in December.
The inaugural flight from Brisbane Airport to Doha Hamad International Airport took off on June 19th. The aircraft, registered as A7-BEE, departed at 15:25 local time and is expected to land in Doha at 22:46 local time. This event signifies Virgin Australia's return to long-haul operations after ceasing such services during the pandemic in 2020.