West Coast enter grand final
West Coast will meet Hawthorn in next weekâs AFL premiership decider after overcoming an early scare to beat North Melbourne.
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West Coast supporters wanting to get to Melbourne for the grand final parade and game could get to to London - and back - for cheaper.
A scour of ticket prices from Perth to Melbourne to get fans to Friday's midday cavalcade could cost up to $2993 with Qantas.
A ticket on a Virgin flight could cost as much as $2579. The cheapest flight making it to the parade on time was $1379 on Virgin and $1543 on Qantas.
Crowds gather for the grand final day parade in 2014. Photo: Eddie Jim
A Qantas ticket from Perth to London on Saturday and a speedy return on Monday would cost a mere $2436 by comparison.
Then there is the return ticket back to Perth on Sunday, which will set fans back no less than $1299 on Qantas and at 3pm there were only two seats left for the bargain basement price of $990 on Virgin.
With fans taking chartered flights to the Perth games this weekend, a Qantas spokeswoman said it was considering options to get more fans to the Melbourne game for the West Coast versus Hawthorn final. Airlines have been forced to answer criticism about price hikes in the lead up to interstate finals.
Late on Saturday, Qantas announced an additional A330 service from Perth to Melbourne and an extra Boeing 747 service to bring Perth fans home.
Jetstar would also employ larger aircraft for four services, providing an extra 320 seats for grand final fans.
Qantas said the additional services and larger aircraft would result in 2500 additional seats for footy fans.
The spokesperson said Qantas and Jetstar did not increase prices for special events and just over half of all Qantas customers were flying between Melbourne and Perth for $275 or less each way.
For Melbourne fans who groan about finals fever, the news is better. Tickets to Perth on Saturday are going for as little as $250 on Jetstar or Virgin and $376 on Qantas.
Note: The reporter did not include flights that arrived after 11.30am on Friday. No one gets from the tarmac to Swanston Street in less than half an hour.
