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The grand final 'disgrace' that has West Coast fans fuming

Sam Goodwin
·Sports Editor

Eagles fans are seething over the price of flights from Perth to Melbourne to watch the AFL grand final.

As of Monday morning, fans wanting to head east on Friday afternoon and return on Sunday after the game were severely disappointed, with all flights completely booked out.

Qantas are believed to be organising a number of extra flights, but at what cost?

During the Eagles’ crushing win over the Demons on Saturday, the price of flights from Perth to Melbourne absolutely skyrocketed.

One fan took to Twitter to blast the ‘absolute disgrace’ he was facing, posting a screenshot of a potential $3369 ticket EACH WAY.

For most flights, economy tickets jumped from about $600 to $1000 one way.

Virgin Australia, the AFL’s official airline, were advertising prices from between $1618 and $2378 at one stage.

With tickets in such high demand once it became apparent that the Eagles were in, airlines naturally bumped up prices, as is the supply and demand model they work under.

Virgin and Qantas both rushed to add extra flights, but even the cheapest tickets forced punters to fork out around $1,000 return.

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Eagles fans are fuming. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Eagles fans are fuming. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Media/Getty Images)

And even then, you’d have to leave almost immediately after the game on Saturday and stop over in Adelaide for 20 hours on the way back.

According to Skyscanner, some flights to London or Paris were even cheaper than trying to get from Perth to Melbourne.

Seriously?
Seriously?

Luckily, for fans in Perth who can’t afford the flights or missed out on tickets altogether, they’ll still be able to watch the big dance in a stadium.

Optus Stadium has announced it will screen the game on its giant screens on Saturday.

“The first 2000 will be on the grass, if they choose to, the rest will be in the stands. Great viewing positions, great sounds,” Optus Stadium CEO Mike McKenna said.