Fresh start: Flight QR988 rolls into Canberra Airport. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Qatar Airways has resumed its daily service to the national capital, a year after the world’s best airline interrupted the Canberra Airport Christmas party for an urgent Zoom meeting that clinched its return.
Canberra Airport had been working hard on Qatar returning to the capital after the COVID pandemic cruelly cut short its service in March 2020, but two phone calls out of the blue late last year confirmed that the airline wanted to restore Canberra to its global network.
CEO Stephen Byron and Head of Aviation Michael Thompson were in Singapore on 6 November, ironically talking with Singapore Airlines among others, when they got word that Qatar urgently wanted to see them.
They hightailed it back to Melbourne for a breakfast meeting with Qatar’s Regional Manager, Justin Kestel, to press the case for a Canberra connection.
A month passed and the Airport staff were in Christmas party mode on Friday, 6 December, when Qatar executives said they wanted an urgent meeting at 5 pm.
“We went from the [party] outfits to this big Teams meeting,” Mr Byron recalls.
“There were 12 of the most senior executives from Qatar, and that was the moment that we knew we could get there and all the efforts that together with the Chief Minister, pressure on Singapore, pressure on Qatar, that we’re finally going to get there, and here we are a year later.”
Flight QR988 touched down at 8:20 am on Tuesday morning from Doha via Melbourne, carrying about 70 passengers, including about 25 industry representatives.
The Boeing 777 aircraft can carry about 350, and its Qsuite Business Class features fully lie-flat beds, sliding privacy doors, and on-demand a la carte dining with an exclusive menu designed by award-winning Australian chef Ross Lusted.
Outgoing flight QR989 departed at 12:30, taking about 100 Canberrans, first to the short Melbourne stopover, then on to Doha and its 170 connections.
Mr Byron said Qatar was here to stay, with the new government regulatory environment and its deal with Virgin Australia ensuring that it would be a long-term arrangement.
Supporting that was a market and tourism offering that had grown since Qatar first came to Canberra in February 2018.
Mr Byron said Canberra was now 23 per cent bigger, with 100,000 more people, and that its economy had grown at the fastest rate of any jurisdiction over the past 15 years.
“Our population has grown at 2.4 per cent per annum, so we are better placed to be a city that is connected internationally with Qatar than we’ve ever been,” he said.
“We’ve got more outgoing traffic, we’re a better tourism product, and that’s why we’re immensely confident of this service.”
Mr Byron said the economics work, the demand was here, out of Canberra and into Canberra, and it’s a daily service.
“If they were hedging their bets, it’d be five times a week,” he said.
Forward bookings over the next 12 months were “fantastic”, 30 per cent higher than when the original service began in 2018, and ticket prices were very competitive.
Mr Byron predicted more international connections in 2026 on the back of Qatar’s return, citing Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand or Virgin.
“I think you’ll see a response from the market, and next year we’ll have more flights to new destinations, and I’m pretty sure we can guarantee that,” he said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it was an exciting day for aviation in Canberra and the ACT’s tourism and hospitality industry.
He said it was the result of a lot of work with the Federal Government, the regulatory base, Canberra Airport, and working with the airline.
He said that with all of the Customs, immigration, and baggage managed in Canberra, this would be the most streamlined experience for Canberrans going to Europe.
“It does, of course, reflect the regulatory environment that the Australian Government has put in place, which is deliberately designed to support flights like this, that support secondary Australian airports outside of the main four,” he said.
“We’ve grasped the opportunity for Canberra, and we think this will provide a timely boost going into 2026 for international tourism, which has been growing very strongly for Canberra, since the COVID pandemic.
“This will make it certainly cheaper and easier for many international tourists to make their way to Canberra.”
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said the resumed service represented its continued commitment to the Australian market and to connecting communities across the world.
“We are delighted to return to Canberra and once again serve Australia’s capital city,” he said.
“Whether travelling for business, government service, study, or leisure, we look forward to welcoming passengers from Canberra back on board and providing them with the world-class services Qatar Airways is renowned for.”
