Airlines raise Perth-Melbourne flight prices as West Coast books Grand Final place

WOULD you rather a trip from Perth to Melbourne for the AFL Grand Final or go to Paris or even New York?

West Coast Eagles fans are facing a pricey trip to Melbourne.

THERE was still a half to play in the preliminary final between West Coast and Melbourne but the airlines believed the game is over.

With the Eagles leading by 10 goals prices on flights from Perth to Melbourne for next week’s Grand Final spiked.

With four minutes remaining in the second quarter, direct flights from Perth to Melbourne – leaving on Thursday and returning west on Monday – with Tiger Air were selling for $1338.

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The AFL’s official airline Virgin Australia was selling flights with the same departure dates for between $1618 and $2378.

To travel to Perth for the weekend after the Grand Final – also from Thursday to Monday – prices start at $603 return.

After a week of negative press with Melbourne fans being similarly gouged, the competing airlines are sure to come under fire again in the lead up to next Saturday.

Jamie Cripps hugs Nathan Vardy. Picture: Michael Klein

If you miss out on a Grand Final ticket, on the same dates, for almost the same money, you could jump on an Emirates flight to New York.

While an Etihad flight to Paris is, unbelievely, cheaper than Perth-Melbourne on the same dates.

Are the Eagles home? One West Coast fan thinks so and he's already looking up flights to Melbourne on his laptop at the game! https://t.co/2Qe5UoQW9n #AFLEaglesDees #AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/T6iikEa4TN

— SuperFooty (AFL) (@superfooty) September 22, 2018

I don’t know if the Eagles are home yet but the airlines just put up Perth-to-Melbourne flights eightfold. #notgougingthough #whatajoke

— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) September 22, 2018

Imagine if Virgin said on Monday as a good faith gesture to AFL fans having just signed on for five more years we are going to put more flights on for Eagles fans with GF tickets this week without gouging them a thousand bucks a pop. AFL could do with the positive publicity too

— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) September 22, 2018

GRAND FINAL: @Qantas has put on 8 extra flights between Melbourne and Perth. That’s 2,500 extra seats. #AFLGF @WestCoastEagles #perthnews

— Amelia Broun (@ameliabroun7) September 22, 2018