Crows Fans Priced Out of Brisbane Semifinal as Airfares Soar
Adelaide Crows fans who waited years to watch their team in an AFL final are being shut out of the next one — not by the opposition, but by the price of a plane ticket.
The Crows booked a semifinal against Brisbane at The Gabba on Saturday night, 12 September, after beating the Western Bulldogs by 22 points at Adelaide Oval — the club's first AFL finals win, a breakthrough years in the making. But getting from Adelaide to Brisbane to see it play out is costing supporters a fortune. Return flights have climbed past $1,000, up from fares that previously sat under $100 on some routes. By midday on 7 September, the cheapest one-way tickets to Brisbane were all above $500 across every major carrier, according to ABC News.
The numbers are stark. A Jetstar Starter one-way fare to Brisbane was $504. A Virgin Australia "Lite" fare — no checked baggage, transferring through Sydney — was $578.11. Flying home was no cheaper: a direct Jetstar flight back to Adelaide started at $643, while a Virgin route via Melbourne came in at $565. For a fan travelling to a single game, the airfare alone could top $1,100 before a match ticket, a bed, or a meal.
Janice Regan, president of the Eyre Peninsula supporter group, said flight prices "went through the roof" the moment the final siren sounded at Adelaide Oval. She told ABC News that a West Lakes travel agent informed her it was roughly as cheap to fly from Adelaide to Singapore and then Singapore to Brisbane as to fly directly. Regan managed to find cheaper fares by flying out the morning after the game and returning the following Wednesday — but flying on the Friday or Saturday would have cost about $1,200 return.
Crows fan Judy Bray said airfares were around $500 before tickets went on sale to members, then nearly doubled to about $1,000 each, putting the trip out of reach entirely.
Semifinal tickets went on sale to members on the morning of 7 September, with many able to secure them quickly after thousands had joined virtual queues in the days prior. So the match ticket is not the barrier. It is the 2,000 kilometres between Adelaide and Brisbane, and what airlines are charging to cross it.
Virgin Australia said it would continue to monitor demand throughout the period. No additional services between Adelaide and Brisbane had been announced at the time of reporting.
For Crows forward Darcy Fogarty, the situation is bittersweet. He praised the supporters and said the team wanted to give them a reason to cheer — whether they made the trip or watched from home. Adelaide has waited a long time for a night like this one. Plenty of fans will have to experience it from their lounge rooms.
The AFL scheduled the Brisbane–Adelaide semifinal as a Saturday night fixture at The Gabba, 7.05pm Adelaide time. For those who can get there, it will be loud. For those who cannot, the cost of the commute is the reason why.
