Qatar moves its Australian fleet to Brisbane.

Over the past week, Brisbane Airport, which usually is a quiet airport for international airlines, has had some pretty exciting activity. First came the Western Global Express Boeing 747 on the 16th, then the next day we got the Aero Trans Cargo (ATC) Boeing 747, which came in both the 17th and 18th.

Well, Saturday afternoon Brisbane welcomed four Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300 aircraft. Two arrived from Perth, Western Australia, in their standard livery, one came from Melbourne, Victoria, sporting the old Formula One livery, and another flew in from Sydney, New South Wales, featuring the latest Formula One livery.

They arrived over the course of three hours, with the first, A7-BEM, touching down from Perth at 2:42 p.m. After a two-hour wait, the rest showed up, all within the same hour.

The second arrival, also from Perth, was A7-BAQ, touching down at 5:02 p.m. The third, A7-BEL, featuring the old Formula One livery, came in from Melbourne at 5:35 p.m.
Saving the best for last, the fourth and final 777 was A7-BEG, sporting the current Formula One livery, arriving from Sydney at 5:58 p.m.

This brought the total to six Qatar Airways 777s parked in Brisbane, well for a short time anyway.

At 11:50 p.m. Saturday night, A7-BEI, which had been here for the last four weeks, departed for Doha as QR56U, carrying the entire crew home.

While the exact reason for their presence is unclear, speculation suggests it could be linked to Qatar Airways’ recent 25% stake in Virgin Australia on the 26th of February 2025, and with Brisbane being Virgin Australia’s home base, the aircraft might be here for ongoing maintenance.

QATAR AIRWAYS BOEING 777-3DZ A7-BEM (MSN 64088)
QR3011 ARRIVING FROM PERTH (PER) 8 YEARS

QATAR AIRWAYS BOEING 777-3DZ A7-BAQ (MSN 38247)
QR3227 ARRIVING FROM PERTH (PER) 15 YEARS

QATAR AIRWAYS BOEING 777-3DZ A7-BEL (MSN 64063)
QR3171 ARRIVING FROM MELBOURNE (MEL) 8 YEARS

QATAR AIRWAYS BOEING 777-3DZ A7-BEG (MSN 60333)
QR3253 ARRIVING FROM SYDNEY (SYD) 8 YEARS

Before the four arrived on Saturday, we previously had three Qatar 777's, parked on the ground.

They were:

A7-BEI, A7-BEQ and A7-BER.

A7-BEQ (MSN 64085) departed Brisbane on the 18th of March at 11.16 p.m. as QR899

A7-BEI (MSN 60335) departed Brisbane on the 21st of March at 11.55 p.m. as QR56U

Leaving the following 5 aircraft here:

• A7-BEG (MSN 60333)
• A7-BEL (MSN 64063)
• A7-BEM (MSN 64086)
• A7-BEQ (MSN 38247)
• A7-BER (MSN 64088)