An airline alliance given the final tick by the competition watchdog is already boosting airfare sales, Virgin Australia says.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has given Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways the final go-ahead for a five-year partnership expected to double flights between Australia and Doha.
"Already, we are seeing some of the positive benefits of the partnership including increased sale activity on airfares between Australia and Europe, the Middle East and Africa thanks to increased competition," Virgin Australia CEO Dave Emerson said.
"We are pleased to welcome Qatar Airways as not just a strategic partner, but a part owner in Virgin Australia."
Qatar bought a 25 per cent stake in Virgin in February - the latest step in the partnership first pitched to the regulator in mid-2022.
The commission has given Virgin the green light for 28 new weekly flights between Australia and Doha, which the airlines claim will be worth $3 billion to the national tourism economy across five years.
"We consider that the conduct is likely to result in public benefits such as adding additional capacity on flights between Australia and the Middle East and is likely to result in minimal, if any, public detriment," Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
"This will likely place downward price pressure on these routes and will also give customers of Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways a greater choice of international flights."
The commission flagged that it would approve the deal in February and had allowed the airlines to advertise new Australia-Qatar flights in November 2024.
There was some opposition to the alliance, including concerns the deal would undercut Australian aviation jobs.
"We consider it unlikely that Virgin Australia or any other Australian airline would commence operating Australia-Doha services on a stand-alone basis in the next five years, even if the conduct was not authorised," Ms Brakey said.
"As such, we consider it unlikely that the conduct will result in a material detrimental impact on the Australian aviation workforce."
Qatar chief executive Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said the decision showed there was appetite for more competition in the sector.
"I would like to thank our Virgin Australia colleagues and valued stakeholders for their tireless dedication to our shared ambition to create healthy competition within the local aviation market," Mr Al-Meer said.
Virgin's arrangements with other airlines on services to Europe, the Middle East and Africa would remain unchanged, the regulator said.
The approval came more than two years after the federal government rejected Qatar Airways' application to run an extra 21 weekly flights into Australia, saying the change could cause problems for local carrier Qantas.
The decision and Qantas's influence on Canberra were probed during a Senate inquiry into air service agreements in 2023.
