Qantas and Jetstar are preparing for a huge footy final series after adding more flights to get fans to and from the games earlier than any season in recent history.
More than 30 Qantas and Jetstar flights and almost 8,000 seats have already been added to get Western Australian fans to and from Melbourne around the grand final.
The Group first added extra capacity between Perth and Melbourne at the end of May, the earliest it has ever added extra flights for footy finals and has since added more flights after seeing a surge in demand.
Qantas has also added more than 1,000 extra seats across the Tasman to help get New Zealanders to Sydney for the NRL Grand Final in October.
Qantas and Jetstar are on standby to add more capacity as teams are locked in for each game of the finals series to help get more fans to games. As an example, after last year’s preliminary finals, Qantas and Jetstar added 27 extra flights to support Brisbane-based fans travelling to Melbourne for the grand final.
With school holidays beginning in mid-September, demand is already high across the network and fans are encouraged where possible to book early to secure the best deals.
Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said the surge in demand, particularly from the West, has been unlike previous years.
“Footy fever has taken hold earlier this year than anyone can remember. Already we’ve seen thousands of fans book travel before their team has even made the final and we’ve added thousands of additional seats to our network.
“We have a number of additional aircraft and crews on standby giving us flexibility to add even more flights once each final game is locked in to help fans get behind their team. That starts with the game tonight, with more capacity for the grand final as teams advance to the preliminary final.”
