AFL Grand Final: Fans face paying triple for flights as ticket prices surge, trains, buses sell out

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AFL Grand Final: Fans face paying triple for flights as ticket prices surge, trains, buses sell out

Fans of the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions are facing astronomical costs for flights to Melbourne to see their beloved teams battle it out in the all-interstate AFL Grand Final this weekend.

Many of the faithful are being forced to consider driving to Melbourne ahead of Saturday’s clash as interstate trains and buses from the Swans and Lions heartlands sell out, too.

According to Skyscanner, as of Wednesday, flights leaving Brisbane or Sydney on Friday and returning on the Sunday of the grand final weekend were at least double — some almost three times — the cost of the same trips the following week.

Ex-Brisbane Lions midfielder Mitch Robinson blasted the airlines for “price gouging” in an episode of his Rip Through It podcast.

His co-host and fellow ex-Lion Rhys Mathieson said when he looked to book flights to the grand final after the Lions’ game on Sunday, tickets “were going up by $500 a second”, prompting Robinson to lash the airline “scumbags”.

“How dare you, by the way,” Robinson said. “You guys are scumbags, you don’t need any more money.”

Mathieson said when he and his partner went to book flights to Melbourne, prices jumped by $250 just by clicking through the website to change their departure time. He said five minutes later, return flights “went up another $500”.

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After the Swans and Lions confirmed their places in the big dance, Qantas added 17 extra flights on flying kangaroo and Jetstar routes between Brisbane and Sydney and Melbourne — totalling more than 5500 additional seats across both carriers— in preparation for the weekend.

In a statement, Qantas said it expects close to 100,000 people to fly to Melbourne for the grand final.

“As of Wednesday afternoon, there are still more than 3000 seats available across Qantas and Jetstar for flights on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning,” its statement read.

On Monday, the national carrier said one of those flights sold out within 40 minutes of going on ***** on Saturday and that all direct return flights to Brisbane on Sunday after the grand final sold out within 24 hours of the Lions’ win over Geelong last week.

******* Australia said it added 5000 seats across the finals season and said fares close to departure times tended to be higher.

Both airlines have said they will continue to assess the need for additional flights.

Camera IconLions fans travelling to the grand final from the club’s heartland face eyewatering airfares. Credit: Joel Carrett/AAP

Lions fans travelling to the grand final from the club’s heartland face airfares up to and more than three times the cost of travelling the following weekend.

A round-trip on low-cost carrier Jetstar starts at $1450 for the grand final weekend, and $479 for travelling the next, according to Skyscanner.

A round-trip from Brisbane with Qantas will cost at least $1242 this weekend, $833 the next; while a ******* Australia flight — which is a partner of the AFL — for the grand final costs $680 and $402 the next weekend.

One man shared a screenshot of a $3391 Qantas fare from Melbourne to Brisbane (via Sydney) to leave after the grand final.

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Meanwhile, the starting price for a round-trip from Sydney is $1012 with Qantas, but $492 the next weekend — an almost three-fold difference.

Flights with ******* Australia cost $801 this weekend, compared with $448 the next, while flights with Jetstar start at $721 for the grand final and just $343 a week later.

Qantas said there were “limited seats” left on flights to Melbourne from Sydney to Brisbane; however return flights to Brisbane on Sunday — including those with extra capacity — had “sold out in economy with a handful of business seats remaining”. There are also options to travel to the game via Canberra.

“Seats may become available on these services if existing customers opt to change their flight,” the statement read.

“As footy tickets have been on ***** for a number of days, we expect the majority of fans have already booked their flights.”

Options are running out for fans who are unwilling or unable to fork out such eye-watering airfares to get to Melbourne. Train tickets and interstate buses from Sydney and Brisbane have also sold out.

It leaves fans with one final option: driving to the ‘G — which, depending on the car’s fuel efficiency, petrol prices, and parking availability (and when you leave) may be the cheapest bet.

Remaining flights to Melbourne

At the time of publication, some of the cheapest, no-frills flight options for hopefuls to get to Melbourne included:

Sydney

Brisbane: starting from $887

Perth: starting from $941

Adelaide: starting from $438

Canberra: starting from $779

Hobart: starting from $444

Darwin starting from $1679

Have you tried to book a flight to get to the MCG for the AFL Grand Final? Let us know in the comments below how you went.

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