Qatar Airways Relaunches Adelaide to Auckland Flight

Qatar Airways is slowly working its way back from the Middle East situation that brought its entire network to a halt earlier this year. The carrier has confirmed it will reach more than 120 destinations by mid-May, expanding to over 150 destinations from 16 June. The airline is currently at around 60% of its pre-conflict capacity, with services gradually scaling back up as the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority opens additional flight corridors.

Part of that expansion is the return of the daily Doha to Adelaide service and, of more interest to Australians and Kiwis, the resumption of Qatar's fifth freedom flight between Adelaide and Auckland.

The other piece worth noting is Virgin Australia. After grounding its Doha-bound services earlier this year, Virgin will restart its wet-leased Qatar Airways B777 operations from 16 June with daily flights out of Sydney and Melbourne. Brisbane and Perth services to Doha aren't expected back until mid-September.

But the real fun in this announcement is the trans-Tasman leg. Qatar is putting a Boeing 777-300ER on the Doha-Adelaide-Auckland rotation, fitted with the airline's Qsuite business class. That means you can experience Qsuite on a 4-hour Adelaide to Auckland hop without sitting through the 14-hour Doha sector first. Pretty good!

Cash Fares in business

Booking direct with Qatar Airways is possible, expect to pay around $2430 for a return in business class.

However, the real "hack" is for those who have an Amex Platinum, Amex Business Platinum or Centurion card. One of the little know benefits of Amex Platinum Travel is that they offer legit discounts on top tier airlines like Qatar Airways, Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Virgin etc. Usually prices are just a few dollars cheaper but on this route, you save around $400 with return flights coming in at $2053 and best of all, there are no credit card surcharges either, win-win!

How to book with Avios points

Award availability has popped up at 35,000 Qatar Airways Avios + $454 in taxes for one-way business class between Adelaide and Auckland. AwardSpy members got the alert on this yesterday.

That's a Qsuite seat across the Tasman for fewer points than some domestic Qantas redemptions cost. Whether you're an Aussie looking for an excuse to try Qsuite, or a Kiwi trying to get to Australia in style, this is one of the more interesting redemptions for a short haul flight.

How to book Qatar Airways with Velocity

Velocity Frequent Flyer members can also redeem points on this flight, and for a lot of Australians it's the easier currency to accumulate with sign up bonuses like this one.

Pricing comes in at 44,500 Velocity Points + $426 in taxes for one-way business class. Slightly more points than the Avios option, but $28 less in cash. Given how easy Velocity is to earn Velocity Points, this is probably the most accessible route for most readers.

Economy is bookable at 22,000 Velocity Points + $244 in taxes. Personally, I'd give that a hard pass. Burning 22,000 points on a 4-hour economy hop where cash fares are usually within striking distance of the taxes anyway is poor value. Save those points for something more interesting.

Finding the seats with Gyoza

The good news is award availability on this route is solid. Almost every day has 2 business class seats and 4 economy seats showing up in the system, which is generous by Qatar Airways standards.

The fastest way to find them is via Gyoza. Punch in your dates, hit the Adelaide to Auckland route, and quickly get an overview of what's available and when.

Flight Hacks readers can get $100 off the Gyoza annual fee using our partner code which you can find here. Thanks for the support!

The schedule

The first Doha to Adelaide service departs on 16 June on the 777-300ER. It arrives in Adelaide the following afternoon and continues to Auckland after a 90-minute stop. So the first ADL to AKL leg flies on 17 June. The first Auckland to Doha service via Adelaide flies on 18 June.

This isn't a brand new route. Qatar previously ran the same fifth freedom for 18 months across 2022 and 2023 before pulling it. Schedules are currently filed daily through to 14 September, so it's a winter-season operation. Qatar has signalled it may return to non-stop Doha to Auckland from mid-September.

What's happening with the rest of the Australian network

Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are scheduled to return to daily Qatar Airways services from 1 May. Brisbane returns slightly later on 16 May with four weekly flights to start. Adelaide returns to daily from 17 June via the new ADL-AKL routing.

The Virgin Australia restart is significant for Australian travellers heading to Europe. Together, the two carriers will rebuild capacity on the Doha route from June onwards, with Virgin's Sydney and Melbourne services initially, then Brisbane and Perth back from mid-September. The Melbourne to Canberra service Qatar previously ran hasn't been confirmed.

One thing worth keeping in mind: the Gulf situation is still fluid. Bookings are open across all these services, but further disruptions are possible.

Summing Up

It's nice to see the big Middle Eastern carriers scaling back up. And for anyone travelling between Adelaide and New Zealand over the next few months, the chance to try Qsuite on a 4-hour hop is a fun bonus you don't usually get on the trans-Tasman!