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Qatar Airways wants to buy a 25 percent stake in Virgin Australia

Posted on by Vaseline
Qatar Airways wants to buy a 25 percent stake in Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia has announced that its existing partnership with Qatar Airways will be “strengthened” as Qatar Airways Group looks to acquire a 25 percent stake in the Australian airline.
The background: Virgin Australia has faced significant challenges this year, with outgoing CEO Jayne Hrdlicka describing the second half of the financial year as “super tough” in September.
Hrdlicka took over as CEO in November 2020 after US private equity firm Bain Capital rescued Virgin from administration and chartered it during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Tuesday’s announcement comes a year after the Albanian government came under fire for its backlash .

The decision came under scrutiny after it emerged that Qantas was lobbying the government against allowing the extra flights.

The most important quote: “This partnership delivers the missing piece to Virgin Australia’s longer-term strategy and is a huge vote of confidence in Australian aviation.” – Jayne Hrdlicka, CEO of Virgin Australia.
What else you need to know: In September, Hrdlicka played down speculation that Qatar Airways was seeking a stake in the airline, saying “a creative fiction” had been written.
What happens next: Virgin has indicated that, subject to regulatory approval, it could soon fly to Doha from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth under a wet lease with Qatar.
With wet leasing, one airline supplies aircraft, the entire crew, maintenance and insurance to another airline.

Hrdlicka said the new long-distance services between Australia and Doha are estimated to deliver a benefit of around $3 billion to the Australian economy through visitor flows.

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