Forget tired, fed up travellers, Taylor Swift may be the real test for Qantas

Qantas have announced 60 additional flights to and from Sydney and Melbourne thanks to overwhelming demand from ‘Swifties’.

Taylor Swift performs onstage during her Eras Tour in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Swiftonomics may be a legitimate financial phenomenon.

Australian airlines may think the post-Covid travel rush is difficult to navigate, but Cyclone Swift is set to cause more chaos than a windy day in Sydney for the aviation sector.

While holiday makers have endured days of delays and months of cancellations, come February 2024 Qantas, Virgin and other operators better be match fit unless they wish to be the antihero for hundreds of thousands of Taylor Swift fans.

Hell hath no fury like a stranded Swiftie, especially one that has paid between $300 and $1500 for a ticket to her Eras tour show which lands in Melbourne and Sydney next year.

One even “accidentally” spent more than $10,000 to see the pop star.

@__georose

Replying to @Aelin I d!ed dead 🫠 #taylorswiftaustralia#erastourtickets#amexpresale#thegreatwartaylorswift

♬ karma sped up - julianna! 🪩💐💌

To save having to utter the now-infamous Swift line: “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem”, Qantas on Friday announced 60 additional flights to and from Sydney and Melbourne “to make it easier for interstate and New Zealand concertgoers to travel in an era of high demand,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

The national carrier will open up more than 11,000 extra seats between February 15-27. Aircraft usually used for trans-Tasman flights will be upgraded from 737s to the larger A330 planes.

Qantas follows Virgin, which last week made more flights available for the Eras tour – specifically for those living and travelling from Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide – even ahead of additional shows being announced.

“We have seen a whopping 656 per cent increase in bookings to Melbourne and Sydney for Taylor Swift’s concert dates following the ticket release on Wednesday,” a Virgin spokesperson said. “Our wonderful team members look forward to ‘shaking it off’ to bring fans’ ‘wildest dreams’ to life sky-high.”

After more than 4m people attempted to buy tickets to the Australian-leg of the Eras tour last week, the pop star announced new shows. Swift will now perform a three-day run of her stage show in Melbourne with a new show added on Sunday, February 18 and four shows in Sydney with the final show on Monday, February 26.

Flights to Sydney from Perth from February 23 start at $450 one-way with Jetstar. Virgin and Qantas are offering one-way economy seats from $665.

Sydney to Melbourne flights for the first weekend of her Australian shows start at $151 one-way via Jetstar or more than $191 one-way on Virgin.

Qantas flights start at $248.

The response to the travel demand for Swift in Australia came as she released her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) album on Friday.

It’s the third instalment of her “Taylor’s Version” series where she has re-recorded previous iterations of her albums after her master recordings were sold back in 2016 to Scooter Braun – the manager responsible for the careers of Justin Bieber and, Swift’s rival Kanye West.