Virgin Australia cabin crew got caught up in the Taylor Swift fever on Thursday, just hours ahead of the global megastar’s sold-out Eras tour Down Under.
Swifties are overcome with excitement as they wait for Taylor, 34, to kick off her highly anticipated Australian leg of the Eras tour at the MCG in Melbourne on Friday night.
The American singer arrived in the country early on Thursday morning as her private jet taxied to Melbourne Airport, although the star herself was not spotted.
Eager fans have been busy traveling across Australia to get to Melbourne for the first set of shows, with Swifties taking over the commercial flights amid the chaos.
And Virgin Australia cabin crew couldn’t resist joining in when they made an in-flight announcement laden with Taylor’s lyrics after landing in Melbourne.
Virgin Australia cabin crew got caught up in the Taylor Swift fever on Thursday, just hours ahead of the global megastar’s sold-out Eras tour coming Down Under
They were greeted with rapturous applause from fans as they made the humorous announcement, thanking passengers for choosing to fly with them.
In a video shared on Instagram by Nine presenter Catriona Rowntree, a member of the cabin crew told passengers: ‘Thank you to everyone who chose to fly with us, it was really great to have you on board. ‘
He gave a special message to Taylor’s fans, adding a text-laden comment: “To all our Swifties on board: your wildest dreams are about to come true!” Shake It Off in style during the Eras tour.’
Alongside the video, Catriona added in a caption: ‘Swifties are taking over Australia! My compliments to the cabin crew for participating.”
As commercial flights fill up with Swifties, others are taking the desperate step of chartering their own flights to go to her shows, according to travel agency Flight Center.
“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.”
In a video shared to Instagram by Nine presenter Catriona Rowntree, the cabin crew hilariously made an in-flight announcement, laden with Taylor’s lyrics, after landing in Melbourne.
Flight Center has revealed that commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne will cost around $569 for the February 16 show. The following week, the same route drops dramatically to $118.
With more than 600,000 tickets already sold, organizers are 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.
Meanwhile, Transport NSW coordinator general Howard Collins said the city was “preparing for the inevitable”.
“What we found at other popular music venues where people can’t get tickets, people just show up to soak up the atmosphere, and you can’t stop them except to manage the crowds,” he said.
“We are not encouraging ticketless fans to attend, but part of our contingency plan takes into account additional people who may be traveling and do not have tickets.”
Taylor will play three shows at Melbourne’s MCG in front of 85,000 screaming fans on February 16, 17 and 18 before heading to Sydney for four concerts at Accor Stadium
But despite warnings from the NSW government, businesses are said to be rolling out the welcome mat to all Taylor fans, regardless of whether they have tickets.
Taylor will play three shows at Melbourne’s MCG in front of 85,000 screaming fans on February 16, 17 and 18 before heading to Sydney for four concerts at Accor Stadium on February 23, 24, 25 and 26.
Her flight (VJT993) from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Melbourne became the most followed flight in the world, with nearly 1,500 of her enthusiastic fans watching the journey across the Pacific Ocean.
She traveled in style aboard a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxury private jet that can carry up to seventeen passengers, and was promptly escorted to her accommodation after her twelve-hour flight.
The singer has less than two days to get over her jet lag before she hits the stage for her first Australian show since 2018.