Business travellers out of Melbourne have been handed a significant windfall on global connectivity, flexibility and competition, with Qatar Airways launching multiple daily services to its Doha hub from 1 December, a move that materially reshapes Australia’s international corporate travel landscape.
For the city’s fast-growing base of exporters, professional services firms, tech operators and resource companies, the expansion is more than a scheduling upgrade. It is, quite simply, a strategic reset in how Melbourne connects to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Corporate Traveller, the SME travel specialist under the Flight Centre Travel Group banner, says the additional services plug a long-standing gap in the market where business travellers have been forced to compromise on schedules or absorb premium fares due to limited capacity.
Fuelled by post-pandemic demand and sustained pressure on long-haul aircraft availability, international routes have remained tight for several years. That pressure now begins to ease for Victorian businesses.
Adding real weight to the expansion, Virgin Australia will also commence daily Melbourne–Doha services (VA7/VA8) from 1 December, completing the final stage of its strategic partnership with Qatar Airways following earlier launches from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. The flights will operate using Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and crew, and will be sold under Virgin Australia flight codes.
In practice, it gives Australian travellers the best of both worlds: local booking channels combined with one of the world’s most awarded international carriers.
Under the partnership arrangement, passengers book through Virgin Australia but travel aboard Qatar Airways aircraft and crew, significantly increasing booking flexibility on the same route without duplicating capacity.
Tom Walley, Australia-based Global Managing Director – Corporate Traveller
“This is brilliant news for our SME customers who’ve been asking for more flexibility on Europe and Middle East routes,” said Tom Walley, Australia-based Global Managing Director of Corporate Traveller.
“Having multiple departure times each day means business travellers can actually choose schedules that work for them, rather than being stuck with limited options.”
With Doha now firmly positioned as Australia’s most powerful gateway into Europe, the expanded services give Melbourne-based travellers access to more than 170 destinations across Qatar Airways’ global network. For growing Australian firms seeking footholds across the UK, continental Europe, the Gulf states and Africa, the connectivity is commercially significant.
The additional capacity also introduces healthy competitive pressure on one of the world’s most lucrative long-haul corridors — Australia to Europe. More seats across multiple cabin classes, particularly premium economy and business, are expected to temper pricing volatility that has frustrated corporate travel managers since borders reopened.
Just as significantly, the expansion further blurs the line between business and leisure travel.
Flight Centre Corporate’s 2025 State of the Market survey found that around three in four customers reported at least some employees adding leisure to business trips, a trend that shows no sign of slowing.
“Doha is perfectly positioned for people who want to extend their business trip into Europe or explore the Middle East,” Walley said.
“Qatar’s stopover programme makes it really easy to add a cultural experience without blowing the travel budget.”
For employers, this “bleisure” behaviour is no longer viewed as a luxury. It has become a talent retention tool in a globally competitive labour market where staff increasingly weigh personal flexibility alongside remuneration.
For industries such as technology, energy, engineering, finance and professional services, the network expansion unlocks more realistic, cost-effective connections into emerging markets where face-to-face engagement remains essential.
“For businesses particularly those in tech, resources, and professional services the expanded capacity means better connectivity to diverse international markets and more strategic options when planning global travel programmes,” Walley said.
“At the end of the day, this comes down to choice and convenience,” he added. “Businesses want options that work for their needs, and this expansion delivers exactly that.”
From an aviation strategy perspective, Qatar Airways’ decision to deepen its Melbourne footprint reflects both the long-term resilience of the Australian outbound market and Victoria’s role as a high-yield corporate travel base. Combined with Virgin Australia’s domestic network feed, the Doha hub becomes increasingly attractive for time-critical business itineraries.
For Melbourne’s business community, the message is unambiguous: the world has once again become easier and potentially cheaper to reach.
More information:
Qatar Airways network and stopover program – https://www.qatarairways.com
Virgin Australia partnership details – https://www.virginaustralia.com
Flight Centre Corporate – https://www.flightcentre.com.au/p/corporate-customers.
By My Thanh Pham – (c) 2025
Read Time: 4 minutes
About the Writer
My Thanh Pham has worn more travel hats than most luggage racks could hold. After taking a course in travel and tourism, she found herself deep in the business of arranging itineraries across South-East Asia, matching travellers to temples, beaches, and the occasional night train, with a knack for making the complicated look easy.
Not content with life behind the desk, she joined a Vietnamese airline, juggling reservations one day and the frontline bustle of the airport the next. It gave her a ringside seat to the theatre of travel: the missed flights, the joyous reunions, and the endless stories that airports never fail to serve.
These days, My Thanh has swapped ticket stubs for a writer’s keyboard at Global Travel Media. Her words carry the same steady hand she once brought to bookings, guiding readers through the rich, unpredictable world of travel.
