Australia's competition watchdog has granted interim authorisation to Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways that allows them to start marketing new weekly flights between Australia and Doha under a wet lease arrangement that will start in June 2025. "We consider that granting interim authorisation now will allow Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia the lead time to undertake the necessary planning discussions, marketing, selling and system alignment in preparation for Virgin Australia to commence flying the new services by June 2025," ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh says. The proposed Virgin flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Doha would start in June, and Perth from November, subject to other approvals. Qatar will operate the flights under a wet lease arrangement with Virgin, effectively allowing it to circumvent restrictions under the Qatar-Australia bilateral air services agreement. Data shows that the Qatari carrier operates 42 return flights per week from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney to Doha. As part of the interim authorization, the two airlines have agreed to a court-enforceable undertaking that would allow passengers to receive refunds or alternative flights if final regulatory clearance is denied. The arrangement is part of a wider tie-up between the two airlines announced in October, with Qatar poised to take a 25% stake in Virgin, which will be subject to approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board. Despite granting interim authorisation, the ACCC reiterated that it is continuing to assess submissions for the five-year authorisation the airlines have sought. A draft determination is set to be released in February. “We are carefully considering the concerns that interested parties have raised, particularly around the wet lease arrangements and the impact of the proposed exclusivity arrangements between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways,” says Keogh. That exclusivity arrangement would see Qatar become Virgin's exclusive partner in the Middle East or Turkiye, and Virgin its sole partner in Australia. Virgin has already flagged to customers that its codeshare and loyalty partnership with Etihad Airways will end in June, however it will continue its partnership with Singapore Airlines.

Virgin Atlantic intends to refurbish Boeing 787s in its fleet but has yet to devise a new cabin configuration for the long-haul jets, its chief executive has disclosed. Speaking at the Airlines 2024 summit in London on 25 November, Shai Weiss said that once the UK carrier has received its remaining on-order Airbus A330neos, under a delivery schedule by 2028, "the big decision will be then what do we do with the 787 [fleet]?" Sources indicate that Virgin has 17 787-9s, 12 A350-1000s, seven A330-900s, and eight A330-300s. In July, the airline said it would receive a total of 19 A330neos and reduce its 787 fleet to 14 jets. Virgin has yet to decide whether the 787's refurbishment will bring the aircraft in line with the carrier's A350s or A330neos, Weiss says. Its A330neos are fitted with 32 Thomson Aero Seating Vantage XL business, 46 Collins Aerospace MiQ premium economy, and 184 Recaro CL3710 coach seats. The A350-1000 fleet features two layouts – one with 44 Safran-made Cirrus business seats, 56 MiQ premium economy, and 235 CL3710 coach seats on seven aircraft, and the other with 16 business, 56 premium economy, and 325 coach seats on five aircraft. Virgin's 787-9s have 31 Contour Premium business, 35 Reynard Aviation Reverb premium-economy, and 192 Recaro CL3620 coach seats. The airline opted to install on its A350s and A330neos a social space, dubbed the Loft, for customers travelling in business, rather than a bar that is available on its 787s and remaining A330ceos.

UK authorities have banned an online advert from Wizz Air that labelled the airline as one of the "greenest choices" for air travel. The Advertising Standards Agency deems this to give a "misleading impression" of the airline's environmental impact, "because the ad didn't make the basis of the comparative claim clear or provide consumers with sufficient information to be able to verify comparisons with competitors". The advert was identified by AI technology deployed by the ASA to search for publications breaking its rules, as part of a project specifically looking into environmental claims by airlines. Wizz had argued that the slogan reflected its young fleet of fuel-efficient Airbus A320-family aircraft and its investment of significant sums into sustainable aviation fuel, but this was rejected by the ASA. "The ad must not appear again in the form investigated," warns the agency. "We told Wizz Air to ensure the basis of future comparative environmental claims was made clear and did not give a misleading impression of their flights' environmental impact." The ASA has previously censured Etihad, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic for similar claims.