Virgin swoops: London business class return under $10,000

Virgin Australia’s new international flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to Doha are now on sale, and sale is the operative word.

There’s sharp launch pricing all the way through Doha to destinations like London, Paris, Rome and Athens with partner Qatar Airways.

The Virgin flights will be made on a fleet of Boeing 777 jets leased from Qatar Airways, which is also providing the meals, drinks and crew.

What’s more, Virgin Australia says these 777s will all be fitted with the highly-regarded business class QSuites, and “the aircraft will only switch to a non-QSuite fitted aircraft if operationally required.”

The new direct flights from Australia to Doha take wing across June – Sydney from  June 12, Brisbane from June 19 and Perth from June 25 – with a kick-off sale on the following routes:

• Sydney to London: economy return from $1,982
• Brisbane to Rome: economy return from $1,945
• Perth to Paris: economy return from $1,791

The equivalent business class sale fares have yet to be rolled out, but a quick spot-check of Virgin’s website shows Sydney-London business class available from $9,700.

Virgin says its Melbourne-Doha 777s will take off in November 2025, with tickets on sale “in early January 2025.”

“This is a huge win for Australian travellers which brings more value and choice for passengers wanting to fly internationally,” says Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka.

“Partnering with Qatar Airways means we’re delivering the gold standard in global travel – seamless connections and world-class service – and increasing market competition to provide better value and fares.”

Virgin Australia's Doha flights will all feature the private business class Qsuites.

Virgin vs Qantas, Emirates

So how do Virgin Australia’s launch fares stack up against the competition?

As a quick benchmark, we’ve run the numbers on a Sydney-London return business class trip in mid-August 2025 – here’s where the field sits against Virgin’s sub-$10k fares.

• Emirates: $10,700
• Etihad Airways: $11,000
• Singapore Airlines: $11,000
• Qantas (via Perth): $11,600
• Cathay Pacific: $12,000
• Qantas (via Singapore): $14,000
• Qatar Airways: $14,200

Of course, Virgin’s entry into the market could trigger price-cutting sales among Qantas, Emirates and other international competitors.

Virgin’s Australia-Doha flight schedule

Here’s the schedule for the new Virgin Australia flights between Australia and Doha.

Sydney-Doha

• VA1 (QR8400) will depart Sydney at 2.50pm, arriving into Doha at 10.50pm
• VA2 (QR8401) will depart Doha at 9.15am, arriving into Sydney at 6.15am

Brisbane-Doha

• VA15 (QR8404) will depart Brisbane at 3.10pm, arriving into Doha at 11pm
• VA16 (QR8405) will depart Doha at 1.40am, arriving into Brisbane at 10.45pm

Perth-Doha

• VA21 (QR8406) will depart Perth at 3.20pm, arriving into Doha at 9.50pm
• VA22 (QR8407) will depart Doha at 7.50pm, arriving into Perth at 11.55am

Virgin has yet to file its proposed flight timings for the Melbourne-Doha route. 

These Virgin flights will be in addition to Qatar Airways’ own flights, which means  Sydney-Doha, Brisbane-Doha and Perth-Doha will soon see double-daily flights, while Melbourne-Doha will have three daily flights.

The VA flights will feature Qatar Airways jets, crew and catering...

Velocity points and status credits

Because these Virgin flights carry a native VA flight code, Velocity members will earn a full-sized serving of points and status credits.

As an additional sweetener, bookings made by 20 January 2025 for travel between 21 June and 30 September 2025 can earn up to 20,000 bonus Velocity points on business return flights and up to 10,000 bonus points on economy return flights.

You can also expect Virgin Australia will be unlocking plenty of Reward Seats which can be booked using Velocity Points.

Under Virgin’s new long-haul international reward seats table:

• Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne to Doha will require 119,500 points in business and 56,000 points in economy
• Perth to Doha – 89,500 points in business and 42,000 points in economy

Onwards legs are grouped into several regions such as Western Europe (the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland) and Southern Europe (Italy, Austria) and Northern Europe (Finland, Scandinavia).

As an example: from Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne to Western Europe will total 258,500 points in business class, and 121,500 points in economy.

However, when it comes to status credits, these long-range flights will be the exception to Velocity’s controversial move to spend-based status earning.

Under that scheme, travellers earn one status credit for every $12 of their airfare.

But on Australia-Doha flights, travellers will earn status credits the old-fashioned way, based on the fare type and the number of miles flown.

Until October 1 2025 on flights each way between Australia and Doha that’s:

• 45 status credits in economy choice
• 80 status credits in economy flex
• 160 status credits in business

After October 1, the tally is rounded out as follows:

• Sydney & Brisbane to Doha: 37 status credits in economy choice, 70 in economy flex and 140 in business
• Melrbourne to Doha: 35 status credits in economy choice, 65 in economy flex and 130 in business
• Perth to Doha: 30 status credits in economy choice, 55 in economy flex and 110 in business

For a trip beyond Doha, it appears that partner earning rates with Qatar Airways will apply.

Which lounges will these Virgin flights use?

Lounge access ahead of international flights remains a bit of a mixed bag for Virgin, but the airline is likely to tap into Qatar Airways’ current lounge partnerships.

These see Qatar’s premium cabin passengers and Gold and Platinum frequent flyers sent to the Air New Zealand lounges in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, and the independent Marhaba Business Lounge in Melbourne.

On flights from Australia, Qatar Airways sends most passengers to Air New Zealand's lounge.

Of course, Virgin Australia has now re-established its relationship with Air New Zealand so this might open up the AirNZ lounge for Virgin’s Doha-bound travellers headed out from Melbourne.

It should also be noted that as of April 2025, the revamped American Express Velocity Platinum credit card will no longer include two single-entry American Express Centurion Lounge passes per year.

As for Doha, a Qatar Airways spokesperson has confirmed to Executive Traveller the following lounge arrangements will be in place for the Virgin-operated flights:

• business class passengers will be directed to an Al Mourjan lounge
• Velocity Platinum frequent flyers in economy will find a home at the Qatar Airways Platinum Lounge
• Velocity Gold frequent flyers in economy will be directed to Qatar Airways’ Gold Lounge

Qatar's excellent Platinum Lounge at Doha will welcome Velocity Platinum frequent flyers.

Qatar Airways’ lounges outside of Doha are generally reserved for business and first class flyers, with the exception of a dedicated frequent flyer lounge at London Heathrow.

However, there’s always some partner lounge option in place for frequent flyers.