Qatar Airways extends Brisbane flights

QATAR A350-1041 A7-ANB (MSN 102)             File Photo

Qatar Airways will continue to serve Brisbane over the coming year, with its Doha-Brisbane route now extended until at least January 2022. As well, the airline's Brisbane-Auckland tag flight will stretch until October 2021. This had been set to end in late March, when non-stop Doha-Auckland flights were to resume and Brisbane was to depart from Qatar's network. However, as international travel restrictions remain in place in both Australia and New Zealand, these flights will continue as-is for now, with a single aircraft carrying some passengers from Doha to Brisbane, and others beyond Brisbane to Auckland after a fuel stop. Qatar Airways' non-stop Doha-Auckland flights are now penciled in for a November 2021 return, heralding a comeback for the world's second-longest commercial route. But unlike the airline's original plan, the return of non-stop Auckland flying won't see Brisbane disappear from Qatar Airways' map. Instead, Brisbane will get its own Doha-Brisbane return route, completely decoupled from New Zealand. From late March through October 2021, the Doha-Brisbane-Auckland service will move from the current Airbus A350-1000 to a Boeing 777-300ER. Although an older member of the Qatar Airways fleet, the Boeing 777s currently scheduled are those offering Qsuites in business class, as passengers had been enjoying on A350-1000 flights. Come November, Doha-Brisbane moves back to an Airbus A350-1000, while Doha-Auckland adopts the Boeing 777-200LR: a jet with the added range to fly non-stop between Qatar and New Zealand, which again has Qsuites.

Australia-NZ travel bubble won't include Qatar Airways flights
In the meantime, passengers travelling solely between Australia and New Zealand are unable to travel on Qatar Airways' Brisbane-Auckland tag flights.
While this may be disappointing for those anticipating a long-awaited Australia/New Zealand 'travel bubble', Qatar Airways flights wouldn't qualify for those quarantine-free arrangements in any case.
That's because if Qatar Airways were to carry passengers travelling solely from Brisbane to Auckland or vice versa, they'd be sharing a plane with those from further afield, and would then be expected to quarantine upon arrival: just like those other passengers.

Qatar hopes Brisbane flights can continue long-term
Separately, Qatar Airways has been lobbying the Australian Government to increase the number of flights its can operate to the country's key airports on a weekly basis.

Under the caps, only 21 weekly direct flights are permitted across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. When daily flights are operating to those first three cities, this leaves no traffic rights for Brisbane – although with international flights to Australia reduced across the board, the airline can squeeze Brisbane into its schedule for the time being. Beyond the '21 flights per week' cap, Qatar is also permitted a further seven flights that route via one of those four Australian cities and continue to another port. Previously, those rights had been used to offer Canberra-Sydney-Doha flights.

Adelaide-Doha flights are not counted under these caps.

Story sourced from here

Qatar Airways extends Brisbane flights, defers non-stop Auckland route - Executive Traveller