“How is that lawful?”: Footy fans furious at exorbitant MEL-BNE airfares

A Qantas aircraft is seen at Brisbane's Airports north terminal in Brisbane, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014. Qantas today announced it will axe 5000 jobs in a bid to dramatically cut costs after posting a $252 million first half loss. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING.

Melbourne-based AFL fans could have a tough time getting to the Gabba for the preliminary final match between Carlton and Brisbane as airfares from Qantas and Virgin are sky high.

Following a nailbiter win by Carlton, the Melbourne-based team will be heading to the Sunshine State (along with its diehard fans), but the footy heads won’t be in for a cheap trip. While tickets for the game haven’t gone on sale yet, airfares are up and not looking ideal.

The game will be played at 5:15pm on Saturday and topping the prices is a one-way economy Qantas flight listed at $875 on game day. Return fares with the national carrier (assuming you fly on Saturday morning and return on the Sunday) are, on average, surpassing the $1000 mark. But Qantas is upping the flights to try and meet demand.

“Qantas has already added one extra flight to help more fans get to the clash. Both Qantas and Jetstar will continue to monitor demand for flights closely over the weekend and will schedule additional services if needed,” a Qantas spokesperson said on Saturday.

The cheapest Jetstar return fare we could find were $536 – assuming you take no luggage and don’t mind a 9am flight on the Sunday morning.

The average Virgin Australia fare is also setting travellers back over a grand and some are hitting almost $1700.

Virgin has also added an additional flight for die-hard Blues supporters.

“To help get fans to and from the upcoming preliminary final in Brisbane between Carlton and the Lions, we have put on one additional return Melbourne to Brisbane flight next weekend,” a Virgin Australia spokesman said, according to The Herald Sun.

While the capacity has increased, footy fans haven’t been so relaxed about these prices, taking to Twitter with their frustrations.

Matt Walsh, an employee as ESPN highlighted that it’s cheaper to fly to Tokyo, while Kon Karapanagiotidis, the founder and CEO of ASRC, asked “How is that lawful?”

Code Sports’ Lachlan McKirdy posted on Twitter: “One of my favourite times of the year: Melbourne footy fans learning how expensive airfares are when they don’t play at the MCG or Marvel Stadium every second weekend.

“It’s extortionate. And surprisingly not just because Carlton are playing in Brisbane.”

We’ll just have to wait and see if Lions fans will be voicing the same complaint if their team succeeds on the weekend.

Latest News

  • Cruise

P&O rescues Rotary volunteers after collapse of Air Vanuatu

P&O Cruises Australia has answered a plea for help from a group of young Australian Rotary volunteers, stranded in Vanuatu following the collapse of Air Vanuatu. The students, many of them teenagers from Albury, NSW, were volunteering for a youth project run by the Hive Rotary Club Australia when the airline abruptly cancelled all flights, […]

  • Destinations

Intrepid continues expansions with launch of first DMC in Jordan

Intrepid has increased its presence in the Middle East with the opening of its first destination management company in Jordan. Based in Amman, the local team will operate Intrepid’s range of nine experiential small group tours in Jordan from this summer, with a view to expanding the range for 2025 and beyond. Zina Bencheikh, managing […]

  • Appointments

Minor hotels appoints Puneet Dhawan to key Asia role

Global hotel owner and operator Minor Hotels has appointed Puneet Dhawan as head of Asia as the group plots its growth in Asia and India. From July, Dhawan will be responsible for the performance of all Minor Hotels properties in Asia, working in close collaboration with the Minor Hotels senior leadership team and will report […]

  • Appointments

Abercrombie & Kent and Crystal appoint Evon Ler to director of sales, Asia

Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group have announced that Evon Ler will join them in the new role of director of sales, Asia. She will work closely with Tony Archbold (VP, Sales, APAC, Crystal) and Susan Haberle (VP, Sales & Partnerships, APAC, A&K) with trade support across the region. Ler comes to the A&K family with more […]