QR flight booked using velocity points cancelled

[nuthq]

Hi all, I’ve booked a Qatar Airways flight in business class from Canberra to London via Melbourne and Doha in September. I booked this late last year using Velocity Frequent Flyer points on a Qatar operated Service. I’ve now had it confirmed via the Flighty app and the Velocity contact Centre that this flight will not be operating. There is no willingness to rebook me. The only thing they say is that I can have a refund of the points and the taxes and they say that because it is a Qatar cancellation is out of their hands. Does this sound right given I had a confirmed ticket?

I have escalated this to someone pretty senior at Virgin Australia who after a couple of weeks has also confirmed there is nothing that can be done and I will need to rebook a cash fare with a different airline.

 

[markis10]

2:33pm Tuesday 28 April 2026

Virgin Australia services between Sydney and Melbourne and Doha (VA1-2 and VA7-8), operated by Qatar Airways, will resume from 15 June 2026 as part of the gradual increase in flights to and from Doha.

Virgin Australia services between Brisbane and Perth and Doha (VA15-16 and VA21-22), operated by Qatar Airways, are cancelled up to and including 14 September 2026. Impacted guests are being contacted directly and reaccommodated on alternative services or offered a travel credit or refund.

Guests planning to travel to, or transit through, the region should check the Australian Government’s Smartraveller website for the latest travel advice.

We are offering flexibility for guests who may wish to change their travel plans. Guests with bookings made before 30 April 2026 for departures up to 15 September 2026 can change their flights to another travel date before 31 October 2026 with the change fee waived (fare difference may apply). Guests may also choose to cancel their booking and retain the value of their ticket as a travel credit for use before 31 March 2027.

For further information and assistance, guests can contact our Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 if calling from Australia, or +61 7 3295 2296 from overseas.

 

[stu961]

Hi all, I’ve booked a Qatar Airways flight in business class from Canberra to London via Melbourne and Doha in September. I booked this late last year using Velocity Frequent Flyer points on a Qatar operated Service. I’ve now had it confirmed via the Flighty app and the Velocity contact Centre that this flight will not be operating. There is no willingness to rebook me. The only thing they say is that I can have a refund of the points and the taxes and they say that because it is a Qatar cancellation is out of their hands. Does this sound right given I had a confirmed ticket?

I have escalated this to someone pretty senior at Virgin Australia who after a couple of weeks has also confirmed there is nothing that can be done and I will need to rebook a cash fare with a different airline.

I have CBR-MEL-DOH-LIS flights first week of Dec.. had a quick check on Qatar's booking page and you still can book CBR-MEL-DOH from 17 Sep.. assume you are flying earlier?

 

[Rayesfeg]

Impacted guests are being contacted directly and reaccommodated on alternative services or offered a travel credit or refund.

So it sounds like they are not willing to reaccommodate OP. Given this is their policy (assuming this is a copy-paste from their website), OP you should definitely push them to put you on an alternative that suits you.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So it sounds like they are not willing to reaccommodate OP. Given this is their policy (assuming this is a copy-paste from their website), OP you should definitely push them to put you on an alternative that suits you.

It’s not entirely clear whether the OP is on a QR coded and operated flight, or on a VA flight, operated by QR.

If the former - QR coded and operated - i believe QR isnt allowing a change of origin. In this case moving CBR for MEL/SYD/BNE. Which is frustrating.

VA would possibly be more accommodating if it was their flight. But the OP might be able to rebook on VA… dunno how forward bookings are looking but some flights are wide open for award space.

 

[MrJetset]

This is terrible and the biggest risk of the VA/QR partnership.

In the reverse, I had VA operated QR flights cancelled, but I booked them using QR Avios because it's cheaper, especially if "Off Peak." QR offered not only new flight times and flight numbers, they also to change dates and allow you to reroute to other cities within a 750 mile radius. I moved to QR coded and operated flights.

 

[nuthq]

2:33pm Tuesday 28 April 2026

Virgin Australia services between Sydney and Melbourne and Doha (VA1-2 and VA7-8), operated by Qatar Airways, will resume from 15 June 2026 as part of the gradual increase in flights to and from Doha.

Virgin Australia services between Brisbane and Perth and Doha (VA15-16 and VA21-22), operated by Qatar Airways, are cancelled up to and including 14 September 2026. Impacted guests are being contacted directly and reaccommodated on alternative services or offered a travel credit or refund.

Guests planning to travel to, or transit through, the region should check the Australian Government’s Smartraveller website for the latest travel advice.

We are offering flexibility for guests who may wish to change their travel plans. Guests with bookings made before 30 April 2026 for departures up to 15 September 2026 can change their flights to another travel date before 31 October 2026 with the change fee waived (fare difference may apply). Guests may also choose to cancel their booking and retain the value of their ticket as a travel credit for use before 31 March 2027.

For further information and assistance, guests can contact our Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 if calling from Australia, or +61 7 3295 2296 from overseas.

Not a VA service but a Qatar service and VA confirms CBR has been cancelled

I have CBR-MEL-DOH-LIS flights first week of Dec.. had a quick check on Qatar's booking page and you still can book CBR-MEL-DOH from 17 Sep.. assume you are flying earlier?

Yep, 7th Sept

This is terrible and the biggest risk of the VA/QR partnership.

In the reverse, I had VA operated QR flights cancelled, but I booked them using QR Avios because it's cheaper, especially if "Off Peak." QR offered not only new flight times and flight numbers, they also to change dates and allow you to reroute to other cities within a 750 mile radius. I moved to QR coded and operated flights.

Yep very disappointed that VA take no responsibility and simply say they are not operating the flight

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yep very disappointed that VA take no responsibility and simply say they are not operating the flight

Unfortunately this is industry standard. VA is selling you those seats as agent for Qatar, and you are bound by the contract of carriage with Qatar, not VA’s. So whatever policy QR has is the one that prevails. It’s no different than if you had bought the seats through a travel agency… they don’t operate the flights, so their hands are tied.

It’s disappointing that QR doesn’t have a more robust policy in place. And also that we don’t have tougher air protections in Australia like they do in Europe.

While it looks like there is some availability for award seats on VA services (operated by Qatar) out of MEL from mid June onwards it doesn’t look like there’s anything on the few dates I checked in September. Might be worth keeping an eye out, or even on QR from PER etc.