- The national carrier was accused of price gouging AFL fans
- Return flights for Carlton fans were listed at high prices on Monday
- Fans lobbying Qantas bosses have managed to get prices down again
People power has cleared the way for thousands of Carlton supporters to travel to Brisbane for their AFL final after initially being left out by eye-watering flight costs.
Fans had complained about return tickets costing as much as $1600 on Monday, with many options including stops in Adelaide and Sydney.
This is despite the fact that AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder is also chairman of Qantas, while Virgin Australia has been the AFL’s official airline partner since 2011.
Fans lobbied Goyder for a fair deal and accused Qantas of price gouging supporters who wanted to travel to see Carlton’s first preliminary final in 23 years.
‘I don’t know about you, but it makes me all warm and fuzzy knowing that the AFL’s main partner, Virgin Australia, and Qantas (chaired by AFL chairman Richard Goyder), are ripping off football fans so badly that it’s literally cheaper to fly back to Tokyo for this weekend,” ESPN’s Matt Walsh wrote.
“It’s price gouging and it’s shameful. The ACCC needs to do its job and stop this from happening,” one Carlton fan complained.
‘As for airline prices charging football fans at the finals, can anyone find out why AFL chairman Richard Goyder doesn’t come out and strongly condemn Qantas?’ another fan posted sarcastically.
Thousands of Carlton fans are expected to descend on Brisbane this weekend for their preliminary final clash with the Lions at the Gabba
Fans lobbied AFL Commission and Qantas boss Richard Goyder for cheaper flights after initially being shelled out for more than $1,600 in return flights
Other fans said it was a simple matter of supply and demand.
‘There are a limited number of planes, a limited number of crews, the planes fly full one way and empty the next and there are many people who want to travel to the same destination at exactly the same time. Why is this so difficult to understand?’ one fan asked.
‘What do we expect from them? It is demand-driven pricing. The entire industry is designed around charging the maximum amount consumers can afford to pay at the time. Isn’t relevant to “AFL fans” as if this happens every holiday, event, party etc,” another added.
Complicating the issue further is that Goyder is quite thin at the moment.
Qantas is Australia’s largest domestic and international airline, but is under enormous pressure following a series of recent scandals
A screenshot from Monday shows rising prices for travel from Melbourne to Brisbane
A screenshot from Tuesday shows that prices have fallen significantly across all carriers
The Qantas boss is under increasing pressure after the High Court found the airline guilty of illegally outsourcing 1,683 ground crew jobs in 2020.
Qantas is also facing fines of up to $250 million over allegations it sold tickets for thousands of canceled flights, while former boss Alan Joyce and Goyder faced a parliamentary inquiry into the federal government’s decision to ban Qatar Airways to expand flights in Australia.
He also declined to comment when News Corp.
However, Goyder may have used his power to reduce the number of flights, as online booking site Webjet showed off several affordable options available to Melbourne fans on Tuesday.
Fans can fly with Qantas on the Friday before the match for just $181, Jetstar has discounted flights from $156 one way and Virgin has dropped the price to $205 for the cheapest option.
The average Qantas flight has been reduced to $331 and all-day options are available, without the need for stopovers in Adelaide or Sydney.