LONDON – On September 14, the Qatari flag carrier airline, Qatar Airways, announced that it will be returning its Airbus A380 on its Doha to Perth service.

Qatar A380 back to Perth

Perth, on the west coast of Australia, will be once again getting Qatar’s Airbus A380 on their daily Doha service. This is certainly unsurprising news given that just one week ago, Qatar had announced a new strategic partnership with Australian carrier, Virgin Australia.

The new partnership, that originally surfaced in May 2022, offers passengers connections across both of the carrier’s networks to over 150 destinations worldwide.

At the time of the new partnership surfacing, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “Unlike other airlines, we were determined to keep flying to and from Australia during COVID, get desperate people home and keep businesses connected to the world, now we have strengthened our presence even more in cooperation with our good friends at Virgin Australia.”

“This partnership will also allow Qatar Airways Privilege Club members to earn and redeem Avios when flying on Virgin Australia. Passengers will benefit from the award-winning facilities of our hub at Hamad International Airport.”

“Recently voted the World’s Best Airport for two consecutive years, to create a comfortable journey. It also opens up Australia to our passengers flying in on Qatar Airways flights, after such a long, difficult time.”

Current operations with B777-300

At present, Qatar’s Perth service is operated by their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on a daily basis on flights QR900 from Doha to Perth and QR901 back to Doha from Perth. Their Airbus A380 will directly replace the Boeing 777-300ER on this daily service from December 6, which will mean the route will gain a further 163 additional seats daily, which is quite a significant capacity increase.

Between December 6 and December 20, Qatar’s Perth services will run as follows –

• QR900 Doha to Perth – 03:15 am departure, 19:15 pm arrival with an 11 hour flight.
• QR901 Perth to Doha – 21:50 pm departure, 04:20 am arrival with an 11 hour 30 minute flight.

From December 21, the flight times then change as follows –

• QR900 Doha to Perth – 02:35 am departure, 18:35 pm arrival with an 11 hour flight.
• QR901 Perth to Doha – 22:55 pm departure, 05:25 am arrival with an 11 hour 30 minute flight.

Commenting on their Airbus A380s return to Perth, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, has said, “We want to demonstrate our commitment to Australia by continuing the work we did during the pandemic to keep Australians connected. It is imperative for Australian travellers to feel welcome in our city whether they are transiting or visiting Doha.”

“During the much anticipated FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, all flights to and from Perth will be scheduled taking into consideration football match timings so that all fans can enjoy the biggest event of the year.”

Overall

It is great to see Qatar further expanding their A380 services in the wake of the Covid pandemic. In a time where many people thought that the days of the Airbus A380 for many carriers was behind them, the SuperJumbo is certainly making its return for many of the world’s operators and Qatar expansion is a significant sign that shows the aircrafts needed capacity.