Qatar Airways doubles Doha-Melbourne...

The additional flights will begin operating from 1 October

Qatar Airways will increase the frequency of its Doha-Melbourne flights from the current once-daily schedule to twice a day from 1 October.

The airline and the Victorian government signed a strategic agreement to increase connectivity to Melbourne to further boost trade and tourism.

Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “Melbourne is the original home for Qatar Airways in Australia, and we are excited to enhance our operations there as a testament to both strong demand and our deep commitment to Australia.

“We look forward to welcoming more passengers to experience our five-star hospitality, as we travel to and from Melbourne to many cities worldwide via our Doha hub in Qatar. The launch of the additional daily flight to Melbourne ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will allow more football fans to travel to attend their respective matches.”

Melbourne airport chief executive officer Lorie Argus said: “There is huge demand for international travel out of Melbourne, and these extra services couldn’t come at a better time with the soccer World Cup kicking off in November. It’s exciting to see airlines like Qatar Airways adding more capacity into Melbourne, given they are a global airline and could send their aircraft anywhere, it’s a huge vote of confidence in our city.

“Qatar Airways is already a favourite with passengers heading to the Middle East or Europe, and given their partnerships with both Virgin Australia and Qantas, we expect these new flights will prove very popular.”

With this network enhancement, the airline will operate a total of 40 weekly flights to six destinations in Australia – Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Sydney. This will exceed Qatar Airways’ pre-pandemic footprint of five gateways in Australia, following the addition of Brisbane services in early 2020 during the pandemic.

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Qatar Airways has recently announced its strategic partnership with Virgin Australia, which will offer increased travel options and benefits across 35 destinations in its extensive domestic network, as well as to its recently relaunched short-haul international markets, including Fiji, and Queenstown in New Zealand.

For more information, visit www.qatarairways.com