Prior to the pandemic, Virgin Australia’s Boeing 777s were very popular with frequent flyers heading across the Pacific to Los Angeles.
Sadly, Virgin Australia removed all wide-body aircraft from its fleet while in voluntary administration in 2020. But three of Virgin’s Boeing 777-300ER jets have been given a new lease on life, being picked up by Qatar Airways. They’re even still fitted with their original Virgin Australia seats!
The first of three former Virgin Australia Boeing 777-300ERs to be delivered to Qatar Airways was the old VH-VPF. This aircraft was re-registered as A7-BOF and entered service for Qatar Airways on 23 December 2022.
Two more ex-Virgin 777s now also fly for Qatar Airways as A7-BOE and A7-BOG.
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On board Qatar’s ex-Virgin Australia Boeing 777
Qatar Airways has repainted these jets in a white livery. However, Qatar Airways has not made any major changes to the cabin fit-out. The aircraft retains its original three-class Virgin Australia configuration with Business, Premium Economy and Economy seating.
This is great news for passengers because Virgin’s Boeing 777s were a comfortable way to fly in all cabins!
Qatar Airways doesn’t sell Premium Economy. Instead, the three rows of Premium Economy seats on the ex-Virgin Boeing 777-300ERs are being offered to Economy Class passengers as “Comfort+” seats for an additional surcharge. On the Phuket-Doha route, for example, that extra charge is around AUD245.
These seats are wider and offer more legroom than Economy seats. So, they are arguably worth paying extra for. But if you have Oneworld Emerald status, such as Qantas Platinum, Qatar Airways will even let you choose a Comfort Plus seat for free at the time of booking!
Even in Economy Class, passengers are being treated with wider seats as Virgin used a 3-3-3 Economy seating configuration on its Boeing 777s.
Qatar Airways’ standard Economy layout is 3-4-3, so the Virgin Australia product is a nice little upgrade!
An AFF member has reported that the extra legroom seats in Economy are even still branded as “Economy X” on the aircraft that are now in service for Qatar Airways.
Which routes are the former Virgin Australia 777s flying?
The three ex-Virgin jets could end up on any Boeing 777-300ER route across the Qatar Airways network. But they do seem to be used more often on some routes than others.
We had a look at the routes these aircraft have flown this year, and they seem to be used most on the following Qatar Airways routes:
- Doha-Ho Chi Minh City-Phnom Penh
- Doha-Phuket
- Doha-Hanoi
- Doha-Nairobi
These jets also appear from time to time on flights to Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Beirut, Tehran, Bangkok, Lahore and the Maldives.
Qatar Airways operates Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh as a fifth-freedom route. This means you can book a seat just between those two cities, without travelling all the way to Doha.
Virgin and Qatar Airways are now partners
While unrelated to this particular aircraft acquisition, Virgin Australia launched an extensive partnership with Qatar Airways in 2022. You can redeem Velocity points to fly with Qatar Airways – including on flights operated by former Virgin Australia aircraft!
Some Qatar Airways flights are also being operated by Cathay Pacific and Oman Air wide-body jets under wet leasing arrangements.
What about the other ex-Virgin Australia 777s?
Virgin Australia originally had five Boeing 777-300ER planes in its fleet.
In 2022, VH-VOZ was delivered to a Russian charter airline called Azur Air. It flew there for a short time before being delivered as TC-MGG to a Turkish charter airline called Mavi Gök Airlines. This plane is currently spending most of its time operating charter flights between Antalya and cities in Poland.
The other jet, VH-VPD, was in long-term storage at Wellcamp Airport in Queensland for several years before eventually being scrapped for parts. Aviation fans can even now buy luggage tags made out of pieces of that aircraft.
Virgin Australia’s former Airbus A330s are also now flying for other operators.
