Virgin Australia and Qatar Announce Strategic Partnership

[levelnine]

Very strange considering QR can already access all those Aussie destinations via OW QF partnership

It's not about accessing Australian destinations, it's about accessing Australian customers. This gives VA customers a reason to fly with QR to Europe as opposed to SQ or EY. Extremely smart on QR's part, especially given they have a way better J product than their competitors.

 

[andye]

Very strange considering QR can already access all those Aussie destinations via OW QF partnership. VA is already partnering with UA and SQ, I think TK would have been a better choice. Also would like to see NZ back on board for Pacific Island redemptions. It's impossible to get *A awards on NZ for islands like RAR.

TK may be geographically good but they don't fly here and reputable airline that they are, don't generate the same excitement with flyers

 

[exceladdict]

4 QR is one return trip to Europe. I'm not a very frequent flyer but not hard.
Having said that, I would be surprised if VA flights will earn QR status

A lot harder than jumping on syd/mel etc just to rack up four squiggles though.

 

[levelnine]

A lot harder than jumping on syd/mel etc just to rack up four squiggles though.

Let's hoping that thinking encourages them to make it a generous QR/VA relationship.

I'm more than happy to take a return flight to Europe on QR if it means I have top tier status with both VA & QF and can effectively pool my status/points earn with both in QR.

That is likely to be wishful thinking though. No way they'd make it that generous ...

 

[jase05]

A lot harder than jumping on syd/mel etc just to rack up four squiggles though.

2 ADL-AKL return trips on QR if that route stays long term

 

[justinbrett]

Not that strange. Airlines partner outside their Global Alliance all the time now and are not really an exception.

And still less strange than the QF/NZ partnership I think!

 

[FishFood]

And still less strange than the QF/NZ partnership I think!

Isn't that just an interlining agreement?

 

[justinbrett]

Isn't that just an interlining agreement?

No, full codeshare agreement including lounge access. Restricted to each domestic market, but that's the important bit.

 

[HS-TQE]

Isn't that just an interlining agreement?

More than that. QF and NZ has a domestic codeshare agreement and FF access, on the agreement that they remain TransTasman competitors.

 

[Tiki]

I would want to see what the taxes will be SQ vs QR. I just looked up BNE-IST and using SQ taxes are $121. Using EK taxes are $276.

 

[oz_mark]

This is an interesting turn of events. I wait to see if a person could be a member of QR’s loyalty program and earn/burn on either QF or VA alternately, and in the process decimating the number of active members in either frequent flyer scheme.

But hard to see this decimating the number of active members. At best a handful of hard core FFs.

 

[andye]

Let's hoping that thinking encourages them to make it a generous QR/VA relationship.

I'm more than happy to take a return flight to Europe on QR if it means I have top tier status with both VA & QF and can effectively pool my status/points earn with both in QR.

That is likely to be wishful thinking though. No way they'd make it that generous ...

The other thing to consider is that QR status is harder ( roughly 50% harder than QF though would depend on flying patterns and you dont have the long-haul QF other carrier penalty)

 

[RAM]

As always the devil will be in the detail.

So far though, Bain has been very intelligent in how they've approached every issue/development.

One positive - no sign of the dreaded 'enhancement' used anywhere.

The choice of three different hubs through to Europe can only be a plus for VFF redemptions. The addition of Qatar nearly doubles the available flights to choose for European destinations for earning VFF points with and hopefully we will see a similar increase in available VFF redemption seats.

Out of interest, does anybody remember pre-Covid how many empty premium seats there were on Qatar flights out of SYD/MEL/ADL? If there were regularly 2 or more in F & J then earning something on those would certainly go straight to Qatar's bottom line. I cannot see Bain neogtiating a losing position in the cost to them of VFF redemptions for such seats.

Here's hoping the detail will not be disappointing.

 

[jase05]

Also consider the risk of crediting a load of flights to QR on the assumption that the 4 eligible sectors are coming, but then that doesn’t work out for some reason. That would be quite the sickener!

Definitely risk but there are already some on here including myself that are currently prepared to take that risk. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve switched over to BAEC and credit all QF domestic flights to them. I’m currently about 2/3 the way to achieving BAEC Gold for the first time but still need to fly 4 BA/IB legs to actually qualify before end of November. I do run the risk of losing the lot if for some reason I can’t travel OS

 

[dajop]

Is there a chance that big alliances may eventually go the way of the dodo one day? Reckon we are going to see more and more of these smaller partnerships take place in the coming years

I think alliances are more or less all about either side of the North Atlantic. I think they’ll probably continue in a way that preserves this core, but they don’t really give a proverbial about what happens outside of NA/Europe. As long as the LH/ group/UA, IAG/AA/AS and DL/KL/AF relationships are preserved it doesn’t really matter who plays with who in the rest of the world.

 

[justinbrett]

Let's hoping that thinking encourages them to make it a generous QR/VA relationship.

I'm more than happy to take a return flight to Europe on QR if it means I have top tier status with both VA & QF and can effectively pool my status/points earn with both in QR.

That is likely to be wishful thinking though. No way they'd make it that generous ...

And that's exactly why it won't be like that. If VA have any competence in running a business, they will make the deal such that Australian residents flying domestically will want to / have to credit to VA and not QR.

Extremely smart on QR's part, especially given they have a way better J product than their competitors.

And I'm trying to see what VA gets out of this deal. Feeder traffic? Which wouldn't be a lot considering QR serve the five major capitals.

Sure, redemption on QR makes Velocity a more viable program - and great for members - but this doesn't generate revenue.

It does seem like a bit of a lopsided deal. There is a real risk this sabotages Velocity, so I'm sure there will be a long list of T & Cs to prevent that.

 

[Blackswan]

This is interesting. It looks like a good arrangement but I am very anti-Qatar due to the horrendous issues surrounding the upcoming world cup, in terms of corruption and human rights abuses, and very reluctant to support their state-owned flag carrier. I'm also concerned that there's more internaitonal concern about Qatar and this may affect partners.

This. They (QR) may have a world leading product, but the State corruption and human rights abuses are a massive concern.

What about EY and EK you say? Well, I've never felt unsafe transitting through AUH or DXB - I'm not sure the same could be said for the 13 Australian women who were subjected to a forced genital examinations (whilst in transit) - because a newborn baby was found in the toilets. This was only two years ago.

What was done about it? (Almost) nothing. It revolts me to the core.

 

[jase05]

And that's exactly why it won't be like that. If VA have any competence in running a business, they will make the deal such that Australian residents flying domestically will want to / have to credit to VA and not QR.

The EY partnership allows you to credit VA domestic flights to their program but yes It is just a tad difference as EY is in no other alliance and especially one with your main rival.
I think you are right and they will be very careful to make sure any movement doesn’t harm their own FFP

 

[Jack_OC]

4 QR is one return trip to Europe. I'm not a very frequent flyer but not hard.

Yeah, but you would have to do it every year (or twice every 2 years to retain) and specifically with QR. How many people do you know who fly to Europe every year with QR? Clearly some people do, but I'd be confident in saying that the vast majority of Velocity members do not.

There would not be much point in switching to QR instead of Velocity/QFF unless you were confident of being able to retain QR status on an ongoing basis - otherwise you would soon find yourself with no status with any airline.

I would put myself in the category of someone who flies a lot, and have done so for 15+ years (at least pre-pandemic) - but I've only flown 4 QR segments in my life! And not because I haven't wanted to - the reality is that QR has almost never been the most cost effective option for my EU trips, and it's not a logical option for US or East Asia. I would definitely have to get very creative to ensure I made 4 QR segments per year.

 

[levelnine]

And that's exactly why it won't be like that. If VA have any competence in running a business, they will make the deal such that Australian residents flying domestically will want to / have to credit to VA and not QR.

But if they fail to make it sufficiently generous, it doesn't move the needle on passenger behaviour and it hurts them by suggesting to customers that these are dud deals that don't make a difference in practice. Indeed, this was a big problem pre-pandemic — other airlines failing to recognise VA customers at lounges, non-existent benefits, etc. It is a fine line to walk.

And I'm trying to see what VA gets out of this deal. Feeder traffic? Which wouldn't be a lot considering QR serve the five major capitals.

Increased competitiveness against QF. That is the main game for VA — take market share from QF. The more VA can make itself look like a fully fledged airline (ie one with good international partnerships), the better chance it has of stealing QF's most valued customers off it.