en.Wedoany.com Reported - Virgin Australia is leveraging an equity investment and wet lease agreement with Qatar Airways to rebuild its international route network. Qatar Airways currently holds a 25% stake in the airline and provides long-haul capacity through a wet lease arrangement. This partnership is seen as a way to circumvent the cap on Qatar Airways' flights to Australia—the carrier is currently restricted to 28 round-trip flights per week, serving only four major cities.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Virgin Australia entered bankruptcy proceedings, grounded most of its fleet, and terminated international operations before being rescued by Bain Capital. With Qatar Airways stepping in as a major shareholder, the airline's prospects have improved. The following analysis data comes from online aviation analytics company Cirium.

The longest route in Virgin Australia's network is the daily Boeing 777-300ER service from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH). All services operated by Qatar Airways are arranged through a wet lease agreement. Virgin Australia has not yet acquired its own long-haul widebody aircraft but has been continuously receiving Boeing 737 MAX 8s and has ordered MAX 10s to support domestic and short-to-medium-haul international operations.

The longest route operated by Virgin Australia using its own aircraft is from Sydney to Ngurah Rai (Bali) International Airport (DPS), with a daily flight duration of 6 hours and 45 minutes. A direct flight from Canberra International Airport (CBR) to Bali, with the same flight time, operates three times a week using MAX 8 or 737-800 aircraft.

The route from Melbourne Airport (MEL) to Bali operates twice daily, also using the MAX 8, with a flight time of 6 hours and 25 minutes. Virgin Australia's longest domestic route is from Brisbane Airport (BNE) to Karratha (KTA), operating once a week for mining purposes, with a flight time of 6 hours and 10 minutes.

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