See how the Australian Grand Prix has driven up the price of flights to Melbourne to INSANE levels
- Ticket prices from Sydney to Melbourne have skyrocketed
- Qantas economy tickets cost over $1000
- The Australian Grand Prix is once again expecting a record number of visitors
The cost of flights to Melbourne for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix has skyrocketed, with some fans now saying they would rather take the train or drive to the event to avoid the staggering costs.
The third round of the Formula 1 Championship will be held in Melbourne this Sunday, with two local drivers on the grid for the first time in more than a decade.
Last year a record 444,631 F1 fans attended the Albert Park event, making it the most attended weekend sporting event ever held in Melbourne.
Ticket sales for this year’s race are booming and previous records are expected to be broken in another milestone event for the race.
However, some fans online have complained about the incredible price of flights from Sydney to Melbourne.
Flights to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix have skyrocketed (Photo: World Champion Max Verstappen on his way to winning last year’s race at Albert Park)
Some fans have said they would rather drive or train to the event this weekend due to the incredible price of plane tickets (stock image)
One X user, who also claims to be a pilot, posted about the situation on Wednesday.
“The F1 GP is once again pushing the capacity of the MEL-SYD airway to its limits,” he wrote.
“Good luck getting an economy seat under $1,000.
“The market is getting hammered these days because QF’s 330 fleet doesn’t have the capacity to do a few MEL-SYD runs.”
The user further explained that Virgin Australia and Rex were already sold out.
For context, an airfare comparison website listed the average price of a ticket from Sydney to Melbourne at $166.
Ny Breaking Australia checked the price of Qantas’ economy flights from Sydney to Melbourne for the Grand Prix and found they cost a whopping $1,030.
‘Take the XPT, cheaper!! Who cares about travel time, what matters is the money saved right now,” one user replied.
“So drive? it probably costs about $300-$400 in fuel (round trip),” wrote another.
Qantas economy tickets to Melbourne currently cost more than $1000
“Imagine how good a fast train would be,” said a third.
Australian Grand Prix CEO Travis Auld said having two Aussies on the grid – Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo – is a big reason for the rush for tickets this year.
“It certainly makes life easier when you have two drivers on the grid and therefore there is more interest from fans,” he said.
“There are fans who are getting their teams and their drivers, especially the more casual fans, to adopt the Australian drivers very quickly and not just making up the numbers.”