QATAR AIRWAYS: Back to daily flights from Canberra

I think this is weird, but it’s welcome. Qatar Airways will resume daily flights to Canberra, Australia’s capital city. The flights will not be non-stop, but they will head to Doha via Melbourne.

You may remember that in 2023, the Department of Transport refused Qatar’s application for additional slots at Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney Airports. With pending approvals, it has sought to circumvent this decision by taking a part ownership in Virgin Australia and essentially providing the airline’s international fleet.

However, it can not increase its slots out of Melbourne, but it uses this ‘wheeze‘ to claim it is flying out of Canberra and, therefore, not increasing its services out of Melbourne.

Details

Don’t get too excited yet. The flights are a year away, scheduled to commence in December 2025. Qatar will use a Boeing 777, featuring Q-Suites in Business Class and free Starlink WiFi across all cabins.

Getting a sense of deja vu? Not unwarranted, as before the pandemic, Qatar Airways serviced Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) via Sydney.

What’s this all about

This does put Qatar back at the heart of Australian Politics, as it is one of the few international airlines servicing Canberra.

Canberra is really an overhyped regional airport that happens to be in the country’s political and power centre.

It has very few international arrivals and departures. Although this flight can be seen as international, the practical reality is that it’s an interstate flight to Melbourne that travels on to Doho. Unfortunately, I don’t think Qatar will get a fifth freedom right to market just the Canberra/Melbourne leg.

The only actual international destination you can reach from Canberra direct and non-stop is Nadi in Fiji with Fiji Airways, three days a week on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

The Aircraft

Qatar has not released which version of its Boeing 777 aircraft will be flying this route. It could be 24 or up to 42 Q-Suite seats. Only about half the 777 models Qatar flies have Q-Suites. Most of its Boeing 777-200LRs have Q-Suites (2 jets still have the older 2-2-2 Business Class configuration).

Qatar has 57 Boeing 777-300ERs in its fleet, including some from Cathay Pacific and three that Virgin Australia formerly flew. The ex-Cathay Pacific (5) and ex-Virgin Australia (3) jets retain their original business seat layouts, both with 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configurations. That leaves—and maths is not my strong point — 38 with Q-suites and 10 with the old 2-2-2 cabins.

Although Q-Suites are promised, aircraft substitution might mean they are not available.

2PAXfly Takeout

This is great news for Canberrans. It’s another semi-direct international flight to the capital, only interrupted by a one-hour stay in Melbourne on the way to Doha.

Qatar has already flown a similar route out of Canberra, using Sydney as its refuel stop. It has also run a weird route to Adelaide, using Melbourne as a stop. Interestingly, the Adelaide route was originally planned to emanate from Canberra. It is presumed that this will stop once the Canberra route commences.

Canberrans will now have a choice of over 170 destinations that can be reached from Qatar’s Doha hub at Hamad International Airport.