AFL Grand Final: West Coast, Cowboys fans fight for flights

The cost of a flight between Perth and Melbourne has more than ­tripled as thousands of fans snap up seats to attend the AFL grand final.

Jeff Singleton is flying to Melbourne with Cobham Air (pictured with his son Christian 4) and leaving his partner Michelle Carew-Gibson and his son Riley 7 (pictured with Michelle) and Christian 4 behind.

The cost of a flight between Perth and Melbourne has more than ­tripled as thousands of West Coast Eagles fans snap up airline seats to attend the AFL grand final against Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday.

Although airlines have added at least 10,000 seats in recent days, the cheapest return airfares offered by Qantas were last night being advertised at $2300, making it more affordable to travel from Perth to Bali and then down to Melbourne for the game. Thousands more Eagles fans are crossing the Nullarbor in cars and on buses, delivering a boon to roadhouses along the Eyre Highway.

It’s a similar story in another part of the continent, north Queensland, where the region’s revered Cowboys have qualified for Sunday’s NRL grand final — against the Brisbane Broncos — for just the second time in the club’s 20-year history.

The club has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure members are in Sydney for the action, filling at least two 127-seat charter flights from Townsville. Fans are paying $1190 for return flights, tickets to the game and team ­merchandise.

Escape Travel manager Debbie Rains — who had already booked her ticket to the all-Queensland derby on a commercial flight — said last night she was trying to organise a third charter to cater for a growing waiting list. “The north’s been doing it tough of late, so this (the Cowboys making the grand final) has boosted the spirits of everybody,” Ms Rains said.

On Saturday, Qantas announced an extra return flight — on a bigger plane — to cater for the rush of north Queenslanders wanting to head south. Though prices started at $290 one-way, the cheaper seats were snapped up.

In Perth, Fremantle fan Scott Bruce had organised a charter flight for 82 of his fellow Dockers diehards to attend the grand final.

But when the WA-based team lost its preliminary final to Hawthorn last weekend almost all of those who had reserved a seat on the flight pulled the pin, losing their $100 deposits. “It was a disaster,” Mr Bruce said. “That Friday night after the footy, I thought ‘Uh-oh, here we go’.”

The next night, however, West Coast booked a spot in the grand final and within hours Mr Bruce had resold the entire flight to ­Eagles fans desperate to get to Melbourne. Passengers on Mr Bruce’s flight paid between $1400 and $1600 for a return flight.

Then there’s the scramble for tickets to the game itself, the official allocation to each competing club of 15,000 seats covering only a fraction of their membership bases. “It’s absolute chaos, there are people who are going over for the game but who can’t get tickets, and people with tickets who can’t get on a flight,” Mr Bruce said.

Among those lucky enough to have picked up a seat on the flight is Jeff Singleton, who has followed the Eagles since their inception. “The opportunity came up to get on board (the charter flight), and it sounds like it’s going to be a much more enjoyable and entertaining way of getting over there.”

Mr Bruce, who used to work in property finance but now drives an ice cream van, will be on the flight despite his beloved Dockers missing out on the grand final.

Being trapped on a long flight packed with celebrating Eagles fans is the stuff of nightmares for a Dockers supporter, but he will do his best to enjoy it. “I’ve got to grin and bear that. I’ll have to put that loyalty aside and say that I love footy, and just try to enjoy the game. There’s nothing quite like the roar of the crowd at the end of the national anthem.”

Additional reporting: Sarah Elks