Qatar Airways
A Qatar Airways Airbus A380, the world's largest jetliner touches down at Le Bourget airport one day before the opening of the 51st Paris Air Show, June 14, 2015. Reuters/Pascal Rossignol

Update: Qatar Airways started offering the direct flights to the Doha-Adelaide leg in May 2016. Previous report erroneously said the Middle Eastern air carrier would begin the service in May 2017.

Long-haul direct flights appears to be one of the aviation trends in 2017 as more air carriers announce plans for non-stop long-haul trips. On Friday, Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce says the Australian carrier is close to concluding a deal that would result in a Perth-London direct flight using the new Dreamliner.

Qatar Airways in mid-October 2015 announced it plans to begin daily non-stop flights between Adelaide and Qatar which commenced in May 2016. South Australian Tourism Minister Leon Bignell says the direct flight would generate $41 million for the state economy and create 228 jobs in SA, Adelaide Now reports.

Mark Young, managing director of Adelaide Airport, says, “The Qatar Airways Doha-Adelaide service opens up a brand new link with the Middle East, and provides excellent connections further afield such as with Europe and the UK.” He adds the Middle Eastern air carrier would use the new-generation Airbus A350-900 aircraft which features advanced twin-engine jets.

With the new service, Adelaide Airport started to service seven air carriers with international flights. These are Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Emirates, Virgin Australia and Malaysian Airlines. Qantas flies to Adelaide but only for its domestic flights.

Because Qatar Airways and Qantas belong to the oneworld airline alliance, Qatar passengers can earn Qantas frequent flyer points when they fly on the Middle Eastern air carrier.

Meanwhile, Qantas says on Monday that because of soft trading condition as the flying roo battles the headwind, the airline’s December half underlying profit before tax is expected to be between $800 million and $850 million. It would be lower than the $921 million a year ago, Sydney Morning Herald reports.

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