Perthonalities frothing at the chance to get across to Melbourne for this weekend’s AFL Grand Final are quickly finding out it’s an outrageously expensive venture, with flights to the Victorian capital for the West Coast Eagles clash with Collingwood being more expensive than flights halfway around the globe in a lot of instances.
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At half time of Saturday’s Preliminary Final between the Eagles and Melbourne, punters reported a sudden spike in airfare prices for flights from Perth in and around Grand Final days, with prices for direct flights soaring to as much as $2,000 return.
So price gouging has already started. These flights were over half the price 3 weeks ago. Well done @Qantas @VirginAustralia time to put on some more flights. #AFLFinals #WestCoastEagles pic.twitter.com/jNRUuI6ioS
— Rick Goody (@rickgmac) September 22, 2018
While both Virgin and Qantas, and their cut-price subsidiaries, rushed to add extra flights this week to accomodate for demand, even the cheapest flights currently still available are set to hit punters well in excess of $1,000 return, and that’s for those keen enough to leave almost immediately after the game on Saturday and endure a 20-hour stopover in Adelaide on the way home.
In fact, in a wild turn of events, a direct flight into Melbourne leaving from Perth on eye-wateringly early on Thursday morning and returning on Sunday costs significantly more than a return flight to London over the same dates, according to a Skyscanner search.
Sure, on the London flight you’d spend almost the entire time on-board a plane, but the point remains.
Suddenly, the idea of forking out $3,738 to $4,984, which is Uber’s estimate for a one-way UberX ride from Optus Stadium in Perth to the MCG, doesn’t sound quite so bad.
Bit more scenic, you’d reckon. You’d see some stuff along the way.
The 2018 AFL Grand Final is scheduled for 2:30pm this coming Saturday.
It’s Footy Christmas week, mates!
