Qatar Airways has announced that it will add a second daily flight to Melbourne, Australia. The flight will then continue to Canberra, marking the resumption of flights between Doha and Australia’s capital.
Starting 1st October 2022, Qatar Airways will operate a second daily flight to Melbourne. The route will be operated as Doha-Melbourne-Canberra-Melbourne-Doha with the following schedule:
- Doha-Melbourne
- Departure time: 01:30
- Arrival time: 23:05
- Flight time: 13 hours and 35 minutes
- Flight number: QR988
- Frequency: Daily
- Melbourne-Canberra
- Departure time: 00:35 (the next day)
- Arrival time: 01:50 (the next day)
- Flight time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Flight number: QR988
- Frequency: Daily
- Canberra-Melbourne
- Departure time: 14:30
- Arrival time: 15:45
- Flight time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Flight number: QR989
- Frequency: Daily
- Melbourne-Doha
- Departure time: 17:15
- Arrival time: 23:50
- Flight time: 14 hours and 35 minutes
- Flight number: QR989
- Frequency: Daily
These flights will be operated by Boeing B777-300ER aircraft featuring 42 Qsuite Business Class seats and 312 standard Economy Class seats.
The airline is adding this frequency with the support of the Victorian Government. The airline and the Victorian Government signed a strategic agreement to increase connectivity to Melbourne to further boost trade and tourism.
Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways, 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 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 travel to attend their respective matches.
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Ben Carroll, Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, said:
Backing international aviation supports our economy and we will continue to work with airlines like Qatar Airways to establish and expand routes into Melbourne to boost local jobs.
With this added frequency, the Doha-based airline will operate a total of 40-weekly flights to Australia.
Lorie Argus, Chief Executive Officer, Melbourne Airport, 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 the newest addition, the airline will operate to 6 destinations in Australia: Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Sydney. This will exceed Qatar Airways’ pre-pandemic footprint of 5 gateways in Australia, following the addition of Brisbane services that started in early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qatar Airways 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, New Zealand.
Featured image by Wikimedia Commons
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