Virgin Australia cabin crew got involved with Taylor Swift fever on Thursday, just hours before the global megastar’s sold-out Eras tour taking place Down Under.
Swifties have been overcome with excitement waiting for Taylor, 34, to kick off her long-awaited Australian leg of the Eras tour at the MCG in Melbourne on Friday night.
The American singer quietly arrived in the country in the early hours of Thursday morning when her private jet was seen landing at Melbourne Airport, although the star was not seen.
Eager fans have been busy traveling across Australia to get to Melbourne for the first set of shows, with Swifties taking over commercial flights amid the chaos.
And Virgin Australia cabin crew couldn’t help but get involved when they made an onboard announcement loaded with Taylor’s lyrics after landing in Melbourne.
Virgin Australia cabin crew got involved in Taylor Swift fever on Thursday, just hours before the global megastar’s sold-out Eras tour in Australia.
They were greeted with enthusiastic applause from fans as they made the funny announcement and thanked passengers for choosing to fly with them.
In a video shared on Instagram by Nine presenter Catriona Rowntree, a member of cabin crew told passengers: “Thank you all for choosing to fly with us, it’s been really wonderful to have you on board.”
Giving a special message to Taylor’s fans, he added in a lyric-laden comment: ‘To all our Swifties on board, your wildest dreams are about to come true! Shake It Off in style on the Eras tour.’
Alongside the video, Catriona added in a caption: ‘The speedsters are taking over Australia! Bless the cabin crew for joining in the fun.”
In addition to commercial flights filled with Swifties, others are taking the desperate step of chartering their own flights. to get to their shows, according to the Flight Center travel agency.
“Commercial flights and accommodation are at a premium and we’ve even seen some travelers opt for a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,” Flight Center Travel Group’s managing director of global leisure told news.com.au. , James Kavanagh.
“While it may seem extreme, we’re not surprised to see people opting for private flights through our charter company AVMIN and we’ve had bookings for Taylor’s shows in Sydney and Melbourne.”
In a video shared on Instagram by Nine presenter Catriona Rowntree, cabin crew hilariously made an in-flight announcement loaded with Taylor’s lyrics after landing in Melbourne.
Flight Center has revealed that commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne cost approximately $569 for the February 16 show. The following week, the same route drops sharply to $118.
With more than 600,000 tickets already sold, organizers are worried about the estimated 15,000 fans who will flock to the pop star’s sold-out shows, despite not having tickets.
Venues NSW has warned fans without tickets to stay away from Accor Stadium to avoid crowd management issues, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
A spokesperson said fans who missed out should not try to “soak up the atmosphere” outside as they probably won’t hear any songs anyway.
Meanwhile, Transport NSW co-ordinator-general Howard Collins said the city was “preparing for the inevitable”.
“What we find in other popular music venues where people can’t get tickets is that people just show up to soak up the atmosphere, and they can’t be stopped other than to manage the crowds,” he said.
“We are not encouraging fans without tickets to attend, but part of our contingency plan is to allow more people who do not have tickets to travel.”
Taylor will play three shows at Melbourne’s MCG in front of 85,000 screaming fans on February 16, 17 and 18 before traveling 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 for 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 traveling to Sydney for four concerts at Accor Stadium on February 23, 24, 25 and 26.
His flight (VJT993) from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Melbourne became the most followed flight in the world, with nearly 1,500 of his enthusiastic fans watching his journey across the Pacific.
She traveled in style aboard a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxurious private jet that can carry up to 17 passengers, and was whisked to her accommodation after her 12-hour flight.
The singer will have less than two days to overcome her jet lag before taking to the stage for her first show in Australia since 2018.