Virgin Australia, Qatar Airways ink ‘strategic partnership’ deal

Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways are joining forces in an unexpected alliance which will see the Gulf carrier added to Virgin's list of international partner airlines.

Why 'unexpected'? Because Qatar Airways is also a member of the Oneworld alliance - indeed, its CEO Akbar Al Baker is Oneworld's current chairman - and by extension, a de facto partner of Qantas, Virgin's bête noire.

But then, Qantas has its own decade-old joint venture with Emirates, and Oneworld members can also be frenemies (cv: Qantas and Cathay Pacific).

Putting all that aside, the fresh partnership between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways will significantly expand both airlines' networks and loyalty programmes.

"Today is more great news for Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer members who are hungry to travel internationally," said Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka.

"Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways are both known for their award- winning service and joining forces means that together we can provide an incredible experience when travelling between Australia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and beyond."

Virgin Australia's other international partners include Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada and Etihad Airways, which will remain on the roster despite its rivalry with Qatar.

For his part, Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker noted the airline's "strong, long-standing relationship with Australia", adding "this agreement with Virgin Australia comes at a time when it is needed the most."

"This partnership will give Australian passengers access to the world that they have so acutely missed these past two years, to be able to reconnect with family and friends, and keep the wheels of trade moving."

A joint statement issued by both airlines said the Virgin-Qatar partnership would "commence later this year", although Executive Traveller understands it's well on track to start in July.

Virgin, Qatar codeshare

Travel will be made easier by a joint 'codeshare' pact to extend across the full network of both airlines.

Qatar Airways' QR prefix will appear on all Virgin Australia flights, enabling a passenger to journey all the way from London to Brisbane (for example) with Qatar Airways and then seamlessly connect onto a Brisbane-Cairns flight by Virgin Australia, all on the same booking.

Likewise, Qatar Airways flights to over 140 destinations worldwide will sprout a VA code, so that Virgin Australia travellers could venture from Melbourne to Madrid on a single ticket.

Virgin, Qatar 'earn and burn'

Under the Virgin Australia / Qatar Airways partnership, frequent flyers will be able to choose which 'currency' they earn when travelling on either airline - Velocity Points or Avios - according to which rewards program membership is entered against their booking.

The same will apply to Virgin Australia's Velocity status credits and Qatar Airways' Privilege Club Qpoints.

With Qatar Airways recently adopting Avios as its rewards currency, this could unlock the ability for Qatar Airways Privilege Club and British Airways Executive Club members to stockpile Avios on domestic flights within Australia.

However, the exact number of points and status credits to be accrued on each airline, and indeed against each type of ticket - cheaper discounted tickets typically earn less than full-fare flexible tickets - is yet to be revealed.

The other side of the coin is that Virgin Australia frequent flyers will be able to use Velocity Points to book seats on Qatar Airways, while Qatar loyalists can turn their Avios into a Virgin Australia flight.

This will include award redemptions on Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways business class.

Virgin, Qatar lounge access

Top-tier members of the Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways frequent flyer programs will also enjoy access to the other airline's lounges.

For Qatar Airways, Privilege Club Gold and Platinum members will be able to visit any Virgin Australia lounge ahead of their domestic VA flight.

And if there's a Velocity Gold, Platinum or Beyond card tucked into your travel wallet, that's your pass into Qatar Airways' premium lounges around the world.

However, Executive Traveller understands that at Qatar's Doha hub, Velocity lounge access will be restricted to the same lounges as frequent flyers of Qatar Airways and Oneworld partner airlines - with the branded First Class and Business Class lounges for Velocity Platinums and Golds, respectively - rather than the more salubrious Al Safwa First Lounge and Al Mourjan Business Lounge, which are the nominal home of Qatar Airways' own first class and business class passengers.

The Virgin Australia / Qatar Airways partnership is also going to turbocharge elite membership of Qatar Airways' Privilege Club, given Qatar's Oneworld membership, with a Gold or Platinum card set to open the doors of both Qantas and Virgin Australia lounges.

Virgin, Qatar status benefits

While lounge access is generally the most appealing and obvious benefit of status, there are plenty of other perks which will also cascade down to Velocity and Privilege Club frequent flyers - such as priority check-in and boarding, a more generous luggage allowance and a bonus serve of Velocity Points or Avios.

It'll be easy to determine which perks your status attracts, as the Virgin Australia Velocity and Qatar Airways Privilege Club tiers are neatly aligned:

• Velocity Silver = Privilege Club Silver
• Velocity Gold = Privilege Club Gold
• Velocity Platinum = Privilege Club Platinum

There's certainly some irony in the fact that just two years ago, Qatar Airways targeted Virgin Australia for an instant status match into its Privilege Club loyalty scheme.

The wildly successful offer reportedly saw tens of thousands of Velocity Gold and Platinum members immediately minted as Privilege Club Golds and Platinums.

Virgin, Qatar and Qantas

So how does Qantas feel about all this? Executive Traveller understands the Flying Kangaroo has no plans to change how it treats Qatar Airways as a Oneworld partner, given that 'side deals' are a reality of the global airline industry.

But Qantas would certainly suggest Emirates trumps Qatar Airways when it comes to the size of their respective networks.

And it's not the first time a Oneworld member has sided with Virgin: frequent flyers with long memories will recall Air Berlin was both a Oneworld member and Virgin partner before the bankrupt German challenger collapsed in 2017.

Source : " Executive Traveller "