Virgin Australia to monitor performance of long haul services with Qatar Airways: CEO
Virgin Australia CEO David Emerson, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, stated (31-Jul-2025) launching long haul operations through a partnership with Qatar Airways is a "test and learn for us, in the best way possible". Mr Emerson said: "We get the benefits of long haul operations without spending billions on new aircraft". He said the carrier will monitor the performance of long haul flights "to give us an ability to understand if we have a case to invest in our own long haul operations". Mr Emerson noted: "We'll give it a couple of years and see what that means for our ability to invest. Our investors expect us to be good stewards of their money".
Background ✨
Virgin Australia commenced daily Sydney-Doha flights with Boeing 777s on 12-Jun-2025, providing access to more than 170 onward destinations via Qatar Airways, and planned to add Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne routes by Dec-2025 as part of its integrated alliance with Qatar Airways, an arrangement projected to generate AUD3 billion for Australia's economy over five years1 2. The partnership received final ACCC approval in Mar-20253 2.