A Qatar Airways Airbus A350 XWB aircraft is displayed at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center February 18, 2016.
A Qatar Airways Airbus A350 XWB aircraft is displayed at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center February 18, 2016.

As Qatar Airways prepares to purchase a significant portion of Virgin Australia, international travel prices may soon experience a decline.

Should Qatar Airways' investment in Virgin Australia be fruitful, it might function as a catalyst, escalating rivalry in the skies, Sky News reports. However, the final clearance from regulatory agencies is required for the move, which is anticipated to upend Australia's aviation industry.

According to Australian Financial Review sources, a possible acquisition may happen as soon as next week, pending permission from the Foreign Investment Review Board. As of now, Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia have a codeshare arrangement that allows tickets to be sold on both airlines' respective aircraft networks.

Following recent developments in Virgin Australia's ownership, Qatar Airways expresses displeasure over rejected route ideas, while Bain Capital, Virgin Australia's owner, withholds comments on delayed IPO plans and CEO Jayne Hrdlicka's planned departure.

Despite epidemic repatriation efforts, Qatar Airways' proposal for additional Australian routes was denied in 2023, leading to concerns of injustice, according to the Australian Financial Review, Gulf News reported.

Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas stated that Qatar Airways' possible purchase of up to 20% of Virgin Australia may improve the airline's chances of acquiring more capacity in Australia. This action comes after the Australian Labor government controversially rejected such ideas in 2023.

Thomas said this kind of investment could heighten the competitiveness with Emirates, which now shares a codeshare agreement with Qantas, creating a fascinating rivalry inside the aviation sector.

He contended that similar to the effects of the Emirates-Qantas alliance, Qatar's investment in Virgin Australia, which may result in expanded capacity, might lead to cheaper domestic and probably lower international airfares.

"Emirates is in a very strong alliance with Qantas, so all of a sudden we have a very heavy-duty Middle East airline in a financial partnership with an Australian airline, similar to the Emirates-Qantas tie up," he said.