Taylor Swift fans tracking her flight path from Hawaii to Melbourne
There are thousands of planes in the sky right now, but there is one that crosses Hawaii and has become the most followed flight in the world, with nearly 1,500 people watching its journey across the Pacific Ocean.
Flight VJT993 from Honolulu is carrying global pop culture phenomenon Taylor Swift, who will land in Melbourne at 12.40pm on Thursday for the Australian leg of her hugely popular Eras Tour.
Swift travels on a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxury private jet with a maximum range of 6,000 nautical miles and a capacity of up to 17 passengers.
After landing, Swift will have about two days to manage her jet lag before taking the stage for her first Australian show since 2018.
Nearly 1,500 people follow the luxury private jet that brings Taylor Swift to Australia
It’s already been a busy week for the superstar, who left Haneda Airport in Tokyo this weekend and headed to LAX Airport in Los Angeles.
She spent just a few days in the US and made the trek across the world to watch her boyfriend Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce win the NFL Super Bowl and party with him before resuming her tour to Australia.
Swift fever has already gripped Down Under. Thousands of Swifties are set to take to the Melbourne Cricket Ground from February 16 to 18 and Accor Stadium in Sydney from February 23 to 26 for her performances.
More than 600,000 tickets have already been sold for her performances.
Demand for airfares for concerts in Melbourne and Sydney is so high that some fans are even chartering their own flights, according to travel agency Flight Centre.
“Commercial flights and accommodation are expensive and we have even seen some travelers choosing a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,” Flight Center Travel Group CEO James Kavanagh told news.com.au.
“While it may seem extreme, we are not surprised to see people opting for private flights through our charter aircraft company AVMIN and we have had bookings for both Taylor’s shows in Sydney and Melbourne.”
Lucky fans with tickets are concerned about maximizing their Swift experience.
Swift fans go to great lengths to attend her concerts, including charter flights
One ticket holder from Melbourne even posted on a fan forum suggesting that ‘adult diapers’ could be a good idea to ensure they don’t miss any numbers while waiting in the toilet queue.
‘A bit of a stupid question, I’m going to Melbourne N1. Is anyone considering wearing an adult diaper? I REALLY don’t want to miss a second of it,” the anonymous post asked.
Tour organizers are also concerned about the 15,000 fans estimated to attend the pop star’s sold-out shows despite not having tickets.
Venues NSW has warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from Accor Stadium to avoid crowd management issues, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
A spokesperson said fans who missed out on tickets should not try to “soak up the atmosphere” outside as they likely won’t hear any songs anyway.