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.

 

[Rayesfeg]

Similar situation has just happened to me and hoping someone here might be able to tell me what my next course of action should be:

VA22 from Doha to Perth is cancelled (according to my Flighty app) which is part of a larger trip with QR flight before and a VA flight after - all on a single ticket.
To check that it is actually cancelled, I did a dummy booking for same day and time and the flight is not available so i am choosing to believe flighty at this time. No updates or notifications from VA yet. Any guidance to my next steps would be gratefully received. Some thoughts of mine:

• There is an alternative QR900 flight that will get me to Perth, Should i proactively contact VA and ask them to re-accommodate me on this flight before availability dries up?
• This will mean an overnight layover in Perth as opposed to a 3 hour layover, any chance VA would sort out accommodation at Perth for me (wishful thinking on my behalf I'm guessing)
• There is an alternative VA2 flight that will get me to my final destination (Sydney) however only Economy reward seats are available - is there any chance that VA will re-accommodate me on this flight in business class given there are no Business reward seats available?
• Any other factors I should take into consideration?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Similar situation has just happened to me and hoping someone here might be able to tell me what my next course of action should be:

VA22 from Doha to Perth is cancelled (according to my Flighty app) which is part of a larger trip with QR flight before and a VA flight after - all on a single ticket.
To check that it is actually cancelled, I did a dummy booking for same day and time and the flight is not available so i am choosing to believe flighty at this time. No updates or notifications from VA yet. Any guidance to my next steps would be gratefully received. Some thoughts of mine:

• There is an alternative QR900 flight that will get me to Perth, Should i proactively contact VA and ask them to re-accommodate me on this flight before availability dries up?
• This will mean an overnight layover in Perth as opposed to a 3 hour layover, any chance VA would sort out accommodation at Perth for me (wishful thinking on my behalf I'm guessing)
• There is an alternative VA2 flight that will get me to my final destination (Sydney) however only Economy reward seats are available - is there any chance that VA will re-accommodate me on this flight in business class given there are no Business reward seats available?
• Any other factors I should take into consideration?

Where is the final destination? You say there is a flight to sydney… if that is the final destination on the ticket then absolutely push for a re-route direct to sydney, in business class. VA should be able to open up award space to accommodate you.

Alternatively try for the QR900.

Don’t worry at this stage about who pays for accommodation… get the flight secured first

 

[Rayesfeg]

Where is the final destination? You say there is a flight to sydney… if that is the final destination on the ticket then absolutely push for a re-route direct to sydney, in business class. VA should be able to open up award space to accommodate you.

Alternatively try for the QR900.

Don’t worry at this stage about who pays for accommodation… get the flight secured first

Thanks Mel_Traveller. I’ll get on the phone with them now.
From your experience, do you think it’s likely they’ll open up award space to accommodate me on VA2? (My final destination is indeed Sydney).

 

[WilsonM]

Similar situation has just happened to me and hoping someone here might be able to tell me what my next course of action should be:

VA22 from Doha to Perth is cancelled (according to my Flighty app) which is part of a larger trip with QR flight before and a VA flight after - all on a single ticket.
To check that it is actually cancelled, I did a dummy booking for same day and time and the flight is not available so i am choosing to believe flighty at this time. No updates or notifications from VA yet. Any guidance to my next steps would be gratefully received. Some thoughts of mine:

• There is an alternative QR900 flight that will get me to Perth, Should i proactively contact VA and ask them to re-accommodate me on this flight before availability dries up?
• This will mean an overnight layover in Perth as opposed to a 3 hour layover, any chance VA would sort out accommodation at Perth for me (wishful thinking on my behalf I'm guessing)
• There is an alternative VA2 flight that will get me to my final destination (Sydney) however only Economy reward seats are available - is there any chance that VA will re-accommodate me on this flight in business class given there are no Business reward seats available?
• Any other factors I should take into consideration?

Can I ask when (roughly) you're meant to fly? Flighty also picked up a bunch of QR cancellations for me, although this isn't until NOV/DEC this year. They're pretty odd cancellations as well (to and from major ports, yet rescheduling over 24hrs later) and sites like Aeroroutes haven't picked up on them yet

 

[Rayesfeg]

Can I ask when (roughly) you're meant to fly? Flighty also picked up a bunch of QR cancellations for me, although this isn't until NOV/DEC this year. They're pretty odd cancellations as well (to and from major ports, yet rescheduling over 24hrs later) and sites like Aeroroutes haven't picked up on them yet

Yep that's it, the affected flight is at the beginning of November.

 

[madrooster]

Can I ask when (roughly) you're meant to fly? Flighty also picked up a bunch of QR cancellations for me, although this isn't until NOV/DEC this year. They're pretty odd cancellations as well (to and from major ports, yet rescheduling over 24hrs later) and sites like Aeroroutes haven't picked up on them yet

Yep that's it, the affected flight is at the beginning of November.

The VA wet lease to/from PER and BNE is cancelled until mid Dec 2026.

 

[Harrison_133]

The VA wet lease to/from PER and BNE is cancelled until mid Dec 2026.

Adding to this, BNE now scheduled to operate 3 times a week and PER 4 times a week upon return.

 

[Rayesfeg]

VA should be able to open up award space to accommodate you.

Just an update: I called VA last night and requested to be put on VA2. It took the agent a long time and she wasn't able to ticket it while I was on the call. She had to submit a support request and a promise to call me back today, I was sceptical, but it worked out in the end and I got a call confirming my new flight.
I didn't ask if this is always an option when flights are cancelled or if this was a non-standard thing that she did. Perhaps it was easier given I was originally on a VA (wet lease) flight versus a QR flight?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just an update: I called VA last night and requested to be put on VA2. It took the agent a long time and she wasn't able to ticket it while I was on the call. She had to submit a support request and a promise to call me back today, I was sceptical, but it worked out in the end and I got a call confirming my new flight.
I didn't ask if this is always an option when flights are cancelled or if this was a non-standard thing that she did. Perhaps it was easier given I was originally on a VA (wet lease) flight versus a QR flight?

Certainly easier because you were on a VA flight.

You are flying under VA’s contract of carriage, and accompanying Guest Charter, which is quite clear… if a flight is cancelled or rescheduled they will provide you with a new flight, free of any additional charge.

As you were ticketed DOH-SYD (via PER), relatively easy fix for them to take you to your final destination.

Had you been booked on Qatar airways, you’d have been subjected to the QR contract of carriage, and any alternative arrangements available therein.

 

[gibbo24]

I too am having a shocker of an experience with this "hot potato" of responsibility between VA and QR on these flights.

Booked BNE-DOH-LHR on one PNR, and LHR-DOH-MEL on another, for travel next month. Economy redemptions via Velocity. Specifically picked QR metal for all segments as I travel with firearms in my checked baggage for sporting purposes (competing internationally) and as per their policy VA services to and from Doha do not currently accept firearms.

DOH-MEL leg cancelled (it was the one that continued to CBR). Was rebooked on a whole new itinerary leaving LHR 7 hours earlier than my original service to be able to connect to a recovery flight they've given me... which just so happens to be the VA service that I specifically avoided as they will not accept my firearms.

Not that I'd have known about the schedule change had I not gone to manage the booking last week and noticed 4 segments instead of 2 - shockingly VA and QR both did not send any notification of this to my email or phone. Upon calling VA they confirmed that the schedule change took place two and a half months ago, and also that yes, no notification was sent. They of course told me that it was QR's responsibility (who on a subsequent call later returned serve by telling me that it was VA's responsibility).

Have spent several hours going back and forth between VA and QR call centres and live chats, trying desperately to get either one of them to take some sort of responsibility and assist me, but so far have had zero offers of assistance outside of them rebooking me to something else with reward availability (near zero at this short notice). Their only other solution is to offer me a full refund, again highly unhelpful at this late stage.

I am genuinely not sure what to do next aside from trying the avenues of contacting their executives via email and or LinkedIn, something I never thought I'd have to do (nor do I want to).

I am just fortunate that I happen to have a background in airline operations and ticketing, so I know the systems and what to say moreso than the average punter. God help anyone with no idea regarding these sort of things. It is absolutely disgraceful and it reminds me of why many people detest airlines.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I too am having a shocker of an experience with this "hot potato" of responsibility between VA and QR on these flights.

Booked BNE-DOH-LHR on one PNR, and LHR-DOH-MEL on another, for travel next month. Economy redemptions via Velocity. Specifically picked QR metal for all segments as I travel with firearms in my checked baggage for sporting purposes (competing internationally) and as per their policy VA services to and from Doha do not currently accept firearms.

DOH-MEL leg cancelled (it was the one that continued to CBR). Was rebooked on a whole new itinerary leaving LHR 7 hours earlier than my original service to be able to connect to a recovery flight they've given me... which just so happens to be the VA service that I specifically avoided as they will not accept my firearms.

Not that I'd have known about the schedule change had I not gone to manage the booking last week and noticed 4 segments instead of 2 - shockingly VA and QR both did not send any notification of this to my email or phone. Upon calling VA they confirmed that the schedule change took place two and a half months ago, and also that yes, no notification was sent. They of course told me that it was QR's responsibility (who on a subsequent call later returned serve by telling me that it was VA's responsibility).

Have spent several hours going back and forth between VA and QR call centres and live chats, trying desperately to get either one of them to take some sort of responsibility and assist me, but so far have had zero offers of assistance outside of them rebooking me to something else with reward availability (near zero at this short notice). Their only other solution is to offer me a full refund, again highly unhelpful at this late stage.

I am genuinely not sure what to do next aside from trying the avenues of contacting their executives via email and or LinkedIn, something I never thought I'd have to do (nor do I want to).

I am just fortunate that I happen to have a background in airline operations and ticketing, so I know the systems and what to say moreso than the average punter. God help anyone with no idea regarding these sort of things. It is absolutely disgraceful and it reminds me of why many people detest airlines.

For the return flight you are covered by UK261.

It is the responsibility of the operating airline to route you to your destination under comparable conditions. It is also the responsibility of the operating carrier to notify of any schedule changes: not the ticketing carrier (if it is different), not the agent.

If VA cannot carry you, you need to advise QR accordingly and seek an appropriate alternative.

I would email QR and remind them of UK261 request routing on QR metal. This is not dependent on award availability.