How Emirates is helping Virgin get new Qatar flights approved by the competition watchdog

Virgin Australia has made an 11th-hour bid to convince the competition watchdog of the benefits of new Qatar Airways-operated flights to Doha.

Virgin Australia has told the competition watchdog proposed new flights to Doha operated by Qatar Airways are already delivering a better deal to travellers as rival airlines raise the bar in response.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is expected to provide an indication next week on whether it will allow the flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to take off mid-year.

Ahead of the draft determination, Virgin has supplied further material to the ACCC on the progress of ticket sales and demand for services, as well as “pro-competitive” moves by Emirates, Etihad and Singapore Airlines.

“The new services have experienced a strong uptake as evidenced by the issue of a significant number of tickets,” the latest submission from Virgin to the ACCC states.

“Qatar Airways has sold the majority of these itineraries, which underscores Virgin Australia’s previous submission that it needs a strong partner to effectively market and sell the services, to maximise customer reach and connection opportunities.”

Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways are pulling out all stops to convince the competition watchdog more flights to Doha are needed. Picture: Getty Images

It was also noted that most of the itineraries originated from Australia, rather than Doha, “highlighting the high degree of demand from Australian consumers for the new services”.

Furthermore, bookings made by December 2024 for travel between Australia and the Middle East in the second half of 2025 were 12 per cent ahead of those made by December 2023, for the equivalent period in 2024.

“This suggests that the new services have likely met the existing unserved demand for travel between Australia and the Middle East and may have also stimulated demand for travel to the Middle East,” the submission adds.

Announcements by “key competitors” since Virgin Australia launched the sale of the Qatar-operated flights were highlighted as evidence of the positive outcome for travellers.

They include Emirates’ third non-stop service between Melbourne and Dubai from March 30, operated by Boeing 777s retrofitted with premium economy and business class seats; and the addition of a premium economy cabin on flights out of Brisbane.

Etihad is offering complimentary status matching for Velocity gold members to its own Privilege Club, and Singapore Airlines is increasing capacity on Brisbane-Singapore by three flights a week.

Emirates’ expansion of its premium economy offering to flights out of Brisbane as well as Sydney and Melbourne is seen as a positive outcome for customers.

“These developments are examples of a competitive market, which is further enhanced by the (Virgin-Qatar partnership),” the submission states.

In November, the ACCC issued an interim authorisation to Virgin and Qatar to allow the airlines to start selling the new services, due to start out of Sydney, Brisbane and Perth in June, and Melbourne from December.

As part of the authorisation, both carriers were required to sign a court-enforceable undertaking they would refund any customers that could not be accommodated on other flights, in the event the new services were not approved.

As well as the ACCC’s determination, Virgin is sweating on the green light from the Foreign Investment Review Board for the sale of a 25 per cent stake in the airline to Qatar.

With a federal election due to be held by May 17, there is the risk that a decision on the sale could be delayed, putting the June flights in doubt.

Airports and the travel industry association have urged Treasurer Jim Chalmers to provide certainty to travellers with seats booked on the services by delivering a verdict in a timely fashion.

Originally published as How Emirates is helping Virgin get new Qatar flights approved by the competition watchdog