Qatar Airways Becomes Official Airline of the 2025 British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia

Written By: Prasan Das

Prasan Das

I am a journalist with a passion for reporting on the ever-evolving travel and tourism industry. As a journalist at Travel And Tour World, I cover a wide range of topics, including emerging travel trends, destination developments, aviation, hospitality, and the global events shaping tourism. Through thorough research and engaging storytelling, I aim to deliver accurate, insightful, and accessible reporting that keeps readers informed while highlighting the destinations, businesses, and innovations transforming the future of travel.

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July 25, 2024 8:12 PM

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Qatar Airways is thrilled to announce its latest partnership as the Official Title Partner and Official Airline Partner of The Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025.

The British & Irish Lions Tour is a historic and highly anticipated event held every four years, featuring the best rugby players from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. They will face the Wallabies in a series of Test matches and games against Australian teams.

The first Test will take place at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, 19 July 2025. The second Test will take place on Saturday, 26 July 2025, at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), with the final Test at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday, 2 August 2025. Prior to the first Test, the Lions will play a combined Australian and New Zealand team at the Adelaide Oval, with additional fixtures in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.

As the eight-time winner of the Skytrax World’s Best Airline award, Qatar Airways will fly the Lions squad and touring party to Australia for the Qatar Airways Lions Men’s Tour, starting on Saturday, 28 June 2025. This title sponsorship follows two successful Qatar Airways Cup International Test matches held at Twickenham in 2023 and 2024, featuring South Africa versus New Zealand and South Africa versus Wales, respectively.

With its extensive network in Australia, Qatar Airways will facilitate the Lions’ journey and offer fans the chance to witness the tour’s excitement firsthand. The airline connects passengers to multiple Australian cities with 42 weekly flights to Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. Qatar Airways is dedicated to the Australian market, showcasing its passion for sports through sponsorships of the Sydney Swans (Australian rules football), the F1® Australian Grand Prix, and The Qatar Airways Australian MotoGP in Phillip Island.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said: “We are taking our commitment to the sport of rugby to the next level, flying some of the world’s best athletes, coaching staff and officials to compete in The Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025. We look forward to enabling rugby fans across the world to connect for this unique sporting event. Our network of over 170 destinations will serve as the perfect means to fly fans from all over the globe and experience the service that earned us the Skytrax World’s Best Airline award for a record eight times.

CEO of The British & Irish Lions, Ben Calveley, commented, “An airline partner is a vital logistical component of every Lions tour and alongside our partners in Rugby Australia we are very pleased to welcome Qatar Airways on board as Series Title Partner for the 2025 Tour to Australia. Qatar Airways has a proven track record of excellence as a premium global airline, providing high-quality service to customers travelling to and from almost 100 countries. This three-way partnership between the Lions, Rugby Australia and Qatar Airways will play an important part in delivering the Lions Tour in 2025.”

CEO of Rugby Australia, Phil Waugh said; “We have had an incredible response from the public in Australia and the UK and Ireland to tickets going on-sale for The Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025, with the first allocation to all three Tests and a number of tour games already selling out. This announcement of Qatar Airways as the Series Title Partner sees one of the world’s finest airlines getting behind one of the most iconic major sporting events in the world, and represents another substantial boost to what promises to be a memorable occasion across Australia next year.”

With 20,000 fans expected to travel to Australia in the summer of 2025 for matches held across six stadiums, Qatar Airways offers passengers the world’s best value stopover via its hub, Hamad International Airport – the World’s Best Airport. Additionally, through its Privilege Club Collection, fans can enjoy ‘money can’t buy experiences,’ including exclusive access to events beyond the rugby action next summer.

Qatar Airways is committed to protecting the environment through initiatives such as optimizing its fleet, investing in advanced aircraft technology, accelerating the adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), and offering customers the option to offset flight emissions. The airline also empowers customers to minimize single-use plastics, conserve water, reduce food waste, and tackle climate change with over 80 projects in its Fuel Optimization Program using SAF. Committed to waste minimization and circular economy principles, Qatar Airways combats illegal wildlife trafficking with a zero-tolerance policy and supports WeQare: Rewild the Planet, a program that transports endangered animals back to their natural habitats free of charge through Qatar Airways Cargo.

Qatar Airways offers unrivaled connectivity for sports fans through its network of over 170 destinations. Operating from Hamad International Airport in Doha, it provides seamless travel to the U.K., Ireland, and beyond, with 105 weekly flights to the U.K. and 14 weekly flights to Ireland.