Virgin Australia flies to Europe, boosts competition in international market

The airline's new partnership with Qatar Airways is forging ahead, ushering in a new era of budget international travel.

The duo announced in September 2024 that Qatar would buy a 25 per cent stake in Virgin - good news for the local airline, which stopped running many of its international services during the pandemic.

Travellers can now book Virgin Australia's new direct services from Sydney, Perth and Brisbane to Doha for travel from June 2025. Flights from Melbourne to Doha will be on offer later that year.

The 28 weekly services will be operated by Virgin using Qatar's Boeing 777s, known for their luxurious Qsuite Business Class. Qatar was named World's Best Airline in 2024, the eighth time it has received the title.

From Doha, travellers can continue to over 100 destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa all booked through Virgin Australia.

The company's CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, said Virgin's flights would complement existing Qatar services, offering more choices and prices.

"The big benefit is great value and choice for Australian travellers, hungry to explore Europe, Africa or the Middle East. We're bringing great fares, we're bringing interesting new choices and a lot of fun," Ms Hrdlicka said.

Special launch fares and promotions are available on the Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways websites for seven days from Thursday, December 12.

These include Sydney to London Economy Choice return from $1,982, Brisbane to Rome Economy Choice return from $1,945, and Perth to Paris Economy Choice return from $1,791.

At time of publishing, Qantas flights were up to $188 more expensive on the above routes for travel in June 2025.

Virgin Australia sale fares include up to 10,000 bonus Velocity Points on eligible economy return flights between certain dates.

The flights are pending regulatory approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission but Virgin said tickets would be refunded or suitable alternative arrangements would be made if the services don't go ahead. The ACCC is expected to make a decision by March/April 2025.

Meanwhile, the new Virgin-Qatar flights could inject $3 billion into the economy through tourism, jobs and businesses over the next five years.

Ms Hrdlicka said the partnership would also improve the airline's ability to compete domestically. Qantas is the airline's main rival.

"Competition generally brings better value. You'll see that today with our very attractive sale fares. Perth to Paris for $1791 round trip in economy, that's extraordinary," she said.

In the domestic space, Virgin has launched a new Journey Tracker that aims to provide a seamless travel experience from your phone lock screen. The airline claims it is the first of its kind in Australia.

Guests travelling with Virgin on domestic flights must open the latest version of the Virgin Australia app within three hours of departure for real-time updates and instant access to boarding passes.