‘Rather drive’: AFL fans lash ‘greedy’ airlines ahead of finals
AFL fans are blowing up deluxe at the “wicked” cost of flights to watch their favourite team play in the finals.
Footy fans looking to book last-minute tickets to the AFL finals matches will be left spending hundreds more on flights to the host city, as airlines bump their regular fares up by as much as $400 a ticket.
In a response to growing demand from AFL fans, Qantas has added additional flights to Sydney from Melbourne, but they are selling quickly.
As of Tuesday morning, the only available Qantas flights departing Melbourne for Sydney on the day of the Collingwood/Sydney Swans clash in time for the first siren are priced from $673-$1609.
In comparison, Qantas budget airline Jetstar have few tickets remaining at $629.
A Qantas spokesman told NCA NewsWire the prices for available tickets reflected the cheap seats selling out faster.
“Since the final siren on Friday, hundreds of Lions and Collingwood fans have booked flights to Melbourne and Sydney on both Qantas and Jetstar ahead of this weekend’s clashes,” the spokesman said.
“Since Sunday night, both Qantas and Jetstar have put on additional flights and bigger aircraft between Melbourne and Sydney this weekend to help fans get to the game.
“As is always the case, the lowest fares on each airline sell the quickest.”
Angry fans took to social media to express their disappointment in flight prices.
“Greedy airlines,” one person said.
“They begged us to fly when they were desperate, now they pump up the fair. Rather drive to Sydney, give the money to country towns.”
“People will still pay if they really want to go but it is wicked of the airlines to do that,” said another.
“They are crazy prices seeing two weeks ago I could’ve gotten a return flight for under $200,” another comment read.
Ticket issues for the September 16 matches don’t stop at flights, as the Ticketek site went down “multiple times” after tickets to the matches were released.
The Tuesday morning blues continue, as people also flock to book seats to the Victorian capital ahead of the AFL grand final at the MCG on September 24.
But with increasing demand comes an increase in flight prices from major airlines.
Qantas, which would usually charge around $149 to fly from Sydney to Melbourne have raised their airfares the night before the match to $371-$504 for an economy ticket and a whopping $999-$1609 for those who prefer to fly business class.
Jetstar isn’t much better, sporting prices of $455 one way compared with a regular low of $71 a ticket.
A Virgin Australia spokesman told The Age that tickets booked closer to the dates would likely be more expensive.
“Fares booked very close to departure dates and times tend to be higher than the average fare, in line with the reduced number of available seats.”
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