Melbourne to get Virgin’s Doha services last

Virgin Australia has officially applied for 28 wet-leased services per week to Doha, with Melbourne to be the last major airport to see the flights. The carrier has lodged an application with the International Air Services Commission (IASC) to launch the first three routes in June 2025 using Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft configured with between 354 and 412 seats. Under the application, Virgin’s Doha flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth would commence in June 2025, with Melbourne services to come in December; this is despite the ACCC indicating in its interim approval for ticket sales that Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne services would commence in June and Perth in November. Virgin says it has looked at supply and demand considerations in its decision to switch Perth and Melbourne in its schedule, in order to better align with where travellers are in most urgent need of the new services. In the application, Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka noted that no Australian airline has ever operated passenger services to Qatar. “Qantas only markets services to the Middle East via its codeshare with Emirates and does not operate its own services,” she wrote.<br/>