Qatar Airways Group will acquire a 25pc stake in Virgin Australia, enhancing their existing strategic partnership and marking the end of speculation surrounding the deal, while allowing Virgin Australia to return to long-haul international flights by wet-leasing Qatari aircraft.
This investment may facilitate Virgin Australia’s transition back to public ownership and will reduce Bain Capital’s controlling stake to less than 70pc, while other shareholders’ stakes will remain unchanged.
The agreement allows Virgin Australia to circumvent existing access restrictions to major Australian airports by wet-leasing Qatar Airways aircraft, enabling the launch of flights from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney to Doha by mid-2025.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is seen as a significant step for Virgin Australia’s long-term strategy, providing the airline with increased competitiveness and growth potential in the Australian aviation market.
Qatar Airways Group CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said “the alignment of our two airlines is significant [and]the relationships are deep. We believe competition in aviation is a good thing and it helps raise the bar, ultimately benefitting consumers.”
