Qatar definitely has Brisbane on its roadmap, and indications are that while Brisbane-Doha will be a direct flight, Canberra will be added onto Sydney or Melbourne to extend that route rather than be non-stop, so there are different economics at play.
Qatar and Australia do not have an open skies agreement. As such, Qatar can only operate 21 weekly flights to the major capital cities - Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth - which means one city has to miss out.
They can operate unlimited services to regional airports - Adelaide, Canberra, Gold Coast, Cairns, Darwin etc even if it includes a stopover in one of the major capitals (so for instance, the reason they chose Canberra I think was so they could add a second Sydney service (CBR->SYD->DOH) Last time I spoke to Akbar, he was considering Darwin, but didn't think the business case was there yet. I also know ~5 years ago Gold Coast was under pretty serious consideration as an alternative to Brisbane but again, the business case mustn't have stacked up.
Hopefully the limit will be raised or lifted soon.
The Qatar-Australia air service agreement currently allows 21 flights per week between DOH and the 4 major Australian ports (MEL/SYD/BNE/PER). This was increased from 14 in October 2015.
The standard Australian air service agreement limits either seats or flights per week to those 4 ports and unlimited to other Australian international ports (eg, ADL, CBR, DRW, OOL, CNS, etc). Some agreements also include AVV as part of the limited ports, while others don't.
The limits are for both sides of the agreement, so under the Qatar agreement, QR can fly to the 4 Australian ports 21 times/week and QF/JQ/VA can fly from the 4 ports to DOH 21 times/week. The Qatar agreement however allows an additional 7 flights/week to the 4 major ports, provided the extra 7 flights are to/via one of the unlimited ports. Thus QR could tag BNE to their existing ADL flights or their proposed CBR flights.
The AU-UAE agreement allows for 168 flights/week. QF is using 14, leaving 154 available (VA had their 3/week revoked a few months ago). The UAE has chosen to split their 168 flight allowance among Abu Dhabi (56), Dubai (105) and Sharjah (7).
oliward
oliward
Member since 09 Jul 2017
Total posts 4
I was wondering what it is exactly that Qatar Airways will not fly to BNE and why they would chose CBR over BNE?!
David
David
Member since 24 Oct 2010
Total posts 1,016
Qatar definitely has Brisbane on its roadmap, and indications are that while Brisbane-Doha will be a direct flight, Canberra will be added onto Sydney or Melbourne to extend that route rather than be non-stop, so there are different economics at play.
Dredgy
Dredgy
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Apr 2017
Total posts 180
Qatar and Australia do not have an open skies agreement. As such, Qatar can only operate 21 weekly flights to the major capital cities - Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth - which means one city has to miss out.
They can operate unlimited services to regional airports - Adelaide, Canberra, Gold Coast, Cairns, Darwin etc even if it includes a stopover in one of the major capitals (so for instance, the reason they chose Canberra I think was so they could add a second Sydney service (CBR->SYD->DOH) Last time I spoke to Akbar, he was considering Darwin, but didn't think the business case was there yet. I also know ~5 years ago Gold Coast was under pretty serious consideration as an alternative to Brisbane but again, the business case mustn't have stacked up.
Hopefully the limit will be raised or lifted soon.
Mightyreds
Mightyreds
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 09 Feb 2015
Total posts 69
My understanding is as soon as the limit is lifted, Brisbane will be announced soon after, with flights commencing within 6 months.
freshthoughts
freshthoughts
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 08 Aug 2016
Total posts 112
out of interest do etihad and emirates both have open ski agreements with australia ?
Dredgy
Dredgy
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Apr 2017
Total posts 180
Well they're the same country (UAE), which we don't have an open skies agreement with.
Emirates is allowed to operate 105 weekly flights to the major capitals, and Etihad 56.
Himeno
Himeno
Member since 12 Dec 2012
Total posts 295
The Qatar-Australia air service agreement currently allows 21 flights per week between DOH and the 4 major Australian ports (MEL/SYD/BNE/PER). This was increased from 14 in October 2015.
The standard Australian air service agreement limits either seats or flights per week to those 4 ports and unlimited to other Australian international ports (eg, ADL, CBR, DRW, OOL, CNS, etc). Some agreements also include AVV as part of the limited ports, while others don't.
The limits are for both sides of the agreement, so under the Qatar agreement, QR can fly to the 4 Australian ports 21 times/week and QF/JQ/VA can fly from the 4 ports to DOH 21 times/week.
The Qatar agreement however allows an additional 7 flights/week to the 4 major ports, provided the extra 7 flights are to/via one of the unlimited ports. Thus QR could tag BNE to their existing ADL flights or their proposed CBR flights.
The AU-UAE agreement allows for 168 flights/week. QF is using 14, leaving 154 available (VA had their 3/week revoked a few months ago).
The UAE has chosen to split their 168 flight allowance among Abu Dhabi (56), Dubai (105) and Sharjah (7).
here2go
here2go
Qantas
Member since 10 Sep 2011
Total posts 45
"When the Dohar flights think of Brisbane, my Airbus Qatar gently weeps." (sing to the tune "While my guitar gently weeps", by the Beatles.) :p
oliward
oliward
Member since 09 Jul 2017
Total posts 4
Could Qatar possibly be purposely waiting for this route to launch their future A350-1000's on?
NinjaWarrior
NinjaWarrior
Member since 12 Jul 2017
Total posts 1
no open-skies agreement b/w the 2 iirc