We are proud of our ongoing partnership with Virgin Australia. Having made the investment during the height of the pandemic when the airline faced administration, leading to high levels of uncertainty over the future viability of the company, we brought together capabilities from across our platform and from around the world to develop a plan to revitalize this important company. More than four years later, Virgin Australia has now emerged as a strong company with immense growth potential because it prioritizes high-quality service, employee wellbeing, and innovation in areas like sustainability. By building on this foundation with Qatar Airways, Virgin Australia will benefit from increased scale and bolster its ability to better serve customers at home and abroad.
Today we announced our existing partnership with Qatar Airways Group will be strengthened with its intention to acquire a 25 per cent minority stake in Virgin Australia, subject to Australian Government approval. This is an important milestone in Virgin Australia’s future return to the Australian public market. Qatar Airways Group’s strategic investment will provide access to critical scale and the knowledge and capability of a world-leading global airline. Our team is the heart of Virgin Australia and this proposed investment is huge recognition of their talent and hard work in rebuilding Australia’s most loved airline. Every one of our 8,000 team members has played a significant role in enabling this investment by Qatar Airways Group. The investment enables Virgin Australia to make a measured entry into long-haul international flying by mid-2025 through a wet lease arrangement with Qatar Airways. This will ensure Australians have access to even better value airfares and greater choice, with significant flow-on benefits for competition and the Australian economy. It will deliver additional customer benefits, including expanded codeshare arrangements and increased earn and redemption opportunities between Velocity and Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club. And it will unlock the potential for new areas of cooperation, including on Sustainable Aviation Fuel and western Sydney’s aviation ecosystem. More information: https://lnkd.in/gxiv52PC #VirginAustralia #QatarAirways