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Qatar Airways will end its direct service between Adelaide and Auckland on 31 August 2023.
For the past year, Qatar Airways has been selling tickets on the Adelaide-Auckland tag leg of its Doha-Adelaide-Auckland route. This route has been operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, making it possible to fly across the Tasman in Qatar Airways’ Qsuite!
From 1 September 2023, Qatar Airways will no longer run its Doha-Auckland flight via Adelaide. Instead, it will fly non-stop from Auckland to Doha.
The daily Auckland-Doha flights, numbered QR920/921, will be operated by an Airbus A350-1000. That aircraft is also fitted with the popular Qsuite.
Qatar Airways is expected to maintain its Adelaide-Doha flights. But the airline will release a commercial policy shortly that outlines options for disrupted passengers who had booked to fly Qatar Airways between Adelaide and Auckland.
There is still time to fly Qatar Airways from Adelaide to Auckland
The good news is that Qatar Airways will continue to fly daily between Adelaide and Auckland until 31 August 2023. So, if you haven’t already, you still have time to try out this service!
As of April 2023, Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER flights between Adelaide and Auckland run to the following schedule:
- QR914 Adelaide 18:20 – Auckland 00:50 (+1 day)
- QR915 Auckland 16:55 – Adelaide 19:40
You can book a commercial ticket on the Qatar Airways website. Don’t forget to use a Qatar Airways promo code to get a discount if there is one available!
You could also book a seat using Virgin Australia Velocity points or Qantas Frequent Flyer points.
However, if using Qantas points, you’ll only be able to access Economy reward seats up to 30 days prior to departure – and Business seats up to three days in advance.
The history of Qatar Airways’ Adelaide-Auckland service
During the pandemic, Qatar Airways switched its non-stop Doha-Auckland service to a one-stop service via Brisbane. Then, in March 2022, the Oneworld airline switched the Brisbane stopover on its Doha-Auckland route to Adelaide.
Originally, Qatar Airways did not sell seats to passengers flying only between Australia and New Zealand. But this changed on 12 April 2022, the day that New Zealand reopens its border to Australians.
When Qatar Airways started flying between Adelaide and Auckland, it was the only airline operating on this route. But Air New Zealand resumed its non-stop Auckland-Adelaide services in July 2022.
Can you earn Qantas points & status credits on these flights?
As Qatar Airways is a Oneworld airline and a Qantas Frequent Flyer partner, it is generally possible to earn Qantas points and status credits when flying with this airline. However, not all Qatar Airways fare classes are eligible to earn in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program!
The cheapest available Economy Classic fare books into “N” class, and the cheapest Economy Convenience fare is in “S” class. Neither of these fare classes are eligible to earn Qantas points or status credits, but the cheapest Economy Comfort fare books into “H” class which is eligible according to the Qantas website.
The earn rate would be based on the Qantas partner airline earning table for “all other flights” between 1,500-2,500 miles. A Business Class ticket would earn 2,500 Qantas points and 80 status credits one-way.
Alternatively, you could credit your flight to Velocity Frequent Flyer. See the Velocity website for earn rates on Qatar Airways.
Other fifth-freedom flights across the Tasman
Although Qatar Airways is ending its Adelaide-Auckland service, there are several other international airlines operating fifth-freedom tag flights between Australia and New Zealand.
This now includes Emirates, which relaunched Airbus A380 flights from Sydney to Christchurch last month!
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