Virgin Australia began its fourth and final route towards Doha. On December 1, he took off from From Melbourne to the Middle Eaststarting in time for Australia’s summer, Christmas and New Year. It joins Virgin’s flights from Brisbane, Perth and Sydney to the Gulf hub, all of which started in June.
Many country pairs still have bilateral air service agreements, which dictate the extent and nature of market access. Qatar and Australia are no exception. As 
Qatar Airways has used up half of its traffic rights, its ability to expand has been significantly reduced. As such, it is using Virgin – and the previously unused Australian half of the rights – to increase its presence. And since Virgin no longer has its own wide-body aircraft, it uses the Gulf operator’s Boeing 777-300ERs and crew. It increases backdoor market access.
Virgin of Melbourne in Doha
The long road from Melbourne covers 6,453 nautical miles (11,951 km) in each direction. With a blocking time of up to 2:15 p.m., it is far from making the top 10 longest flights in Australia. Virgin serves the market daily aboard the two-class, 777-300ER with 354 seats. The airline’s timetable indicates that flights arrive in Doha shortly before midnight. It complements Qatar Airways’ service at the time, which doubles capacity to provide onward services to Europe and the Middle East.
According to Flightradar24, Virgin’s first departure deployed A7-BEKof which ch-aviation shows that it is an executive aged 8.4 years. Echo Kilo was positioned from Doha to Melbourne via 
Bangkok, landing at Victoria on the morning of December 1st. However, the specific setting will vary daily.
Of course, Qatar Airways was not willing to expand its Australian presence for the sake of it. It needed to become a bigger, stronger and more competitive force, including with Emirates. Qatar Airways and Virgin offer three daily flights between Doha and Melbourne. It’s no coincidence that Emirates offers three daily non-stop services between Dubai and Melbourne.
|
Airline |
Frequency |
Melbourne to Doha; Local times* |
Airline |
Frequency |
Doha to Melbourne; Local times** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Qatar Airways |
Every day |
4:10 p.m.-10:25 p.m. (2:15 p.m.); 777-300ER |
Virgin |
Every day |
1:50 a.m.-11:20 p.m. (1:30 p.m.); 777-300ER |
|
Virgin |
Every day |
5:10 p.m.-11:25 p.m. (2:15 p.m.); 777-300ER^ |
Qatar Airways |
Every day |
8:15 a.m.-5:45 a.m.+1 (1:30 p.m.); 777-300ER |
|
Qatar Airways |
Every day |
11:40 p.m.-5:55 a.m.+1 (2:15 p.m.); 777-300ER |
Qatar Airways |
Every day |
8:20 p.m.-5:50 p.m.+1 (1:30 p.m.); 777-300ER |
|
*In December. Displayed in Simple Flying’s new time format ^ The plane remains in Melbourne between its arrival at 11:20 p.m. and its departure at 5:10 p.m. the following day |
** In December. Displayed in Simple Flying’s new time format |
Qatar Airways and Virgin offer triple daily service to Melbourne
The table shows how flights are coordinated for connectivity over Doha. Note Virgin’s timetable, with flights departing from the Gulf hub at 1h50. It is timed this way so that the large number of Qatar Airways flights from across Europe and the Middle East, which land around midnight, can connect seamlessly in Melbourne.
Until November, Qatar Airways itself had flights that departed at a very similar time. However, as this deadline is now in the hands of Virgin, Qatar Airways has decided on a new schedule. One of the carrier’s daily services now departs from Doha to 8:15 a.m.. This is only the second time in history that flights to Melbourne have left Doha at this time.
Departure from Doha at 8:15 a.m. allows the carrier to capture additional market share in Europe and the Middle East. However, only a handful of European flights arrive at this time, although they include the most important market, London Heathrow, as well as other major cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Frankfurt, Madrid, Manchester and Rome. Arrivals from the Middle East include Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Dubai, Jeddah and Tehran, which are busy markets to Melbourne.
Jetstar begins new 7-hour flights on Airbus A321LR
This is temporarily the airline’s longest narrow-body service.
Qatar Airways returns to the Australian capital
Let’s focus on the 8:15 a.m. departure from Doha. This service is extended to Canberrathis city having already seen Qatar Airways executives in 2020, when flights were operated via Sydney.
The airline’s first departure to Canberra in 2025 was on December 1, which coincided with the new combined triple daily offer to Melbourne. After landing in Victoria at 5:45am, QR988 departs for Canberra at 7:15am and arrives at 8:20am local time. QR989 then departs the nation’s capital at 12:30 p.m. and arrives in Melbourne at 1:45 p.m. local time. The flight then takes off for Doha at 4:10 p.m.
The extension to Canberra replaces Adelaide, which flew until November 30. This oddity is due to regulatory reasons. Qatar Airways does not wish to serve Canberra. Instead, the AA global member would only be able to increase its flights to major Australian cities (in this case, Melbourne) if it continued to a smaller city (in this case, Canberra). The tag-on means it itself can serve Melbourne twice a day. If there were no label, it would be limited to a much less competitive daily offer.
