Qatar Airways' Newest A380 Destination

DALLAS - Qatar Airways (QR) passengers traveling between Perth and Doha will soon be able to fly on the Airbus A380.

The deployment of the double-decker jet on the route will commence on December 6, according to QR. With room for up to 517 passengers on each A380 flight, the upgraded route, which was formerly served by the Boeing 777-300ER, will provide an additional 163 daily seats.

Eight first-class seats, 48 business-class seats, and 461 economy seats are distributed among the aircraft's three cabins.

The Doha-based airline says that its new strategic alliance with Virgin Australia (VA) was what motivated the decision to bring back the Superjumbo to the route.

The partnership promises a considerable expansion of lounge and loyalty program privileges as well as codeshare options between the airlines.

Comments from Qatar Airways CEO

Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group chief executive said: “We want to demonstrate our commitment to Australia by continuing the work we did during the pandemic to keep Australians connected. It is imperative for Australian travelers to feel welcome in our city whether they are transiting or visiting Doha.”

Al Baker also confirmed that during the upcoming FIFA World Cup, all flights to and from the Western Australia city “will be scheduled taking into consideration football match timings so that all fans can enjoy the biggest event of the year.”

These flights will be numbered QR 900/1.

Qatar Airways brought four A380s back to the skies in November 2021, with the type operating the Doha-London and Doha-Paris routes. QR then began to operate the type to Sydney and to Bangkok in April of this year. That follows the Gulf carrier revealing that it was bringing back four more A380s for a total of eight.

With the new Doha-Perth route, the QR Superjumbos are set to fly to five cities. The airline has 10 A380s in its fleet.

Featured image: Qatar Airways A7-APA Airbus A380. Photo: Tony Bordelais/Airways