There are thousands of planes in the air right now, but there is one crossing Hawaii that has become the most followed flight in the world with almost 1,500 people watching its journey across the Pacific.
Flight VJT993 from Honolulu carries global pop culture phenomenon Taylor Swift, who is scheduled to land in Melbourne for the Australian leg of her hugely popular Eras Tour at 12.40am on Thursday.
Swift travels aboard a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxurious private jet that has 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 show in Australia since 2018.
It’s already been a busy week for the superstar, who left Tokyo’s Haneda Airport bound for LAX Airport in Los Angeles over the weekend.
She spent just a few days in the U.S., crisscrossing the world to see her boyfriend, Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, win the NFL Super Bowl and celebrate with him before resuming her tour to Australia.
Swift fever has already taken hold in Australia with thousands of Swifties set to flock to the Melbourne Cricket Ground from February 16-18 and Sydney’s Accor Stadium from February 23-26 for their performances.
More than 600,000 tickets have already been sold for their performances.
Such is the demand for plane tickets to get to the concerts in Melbourne and Sydney that some fans are even chartering their own flights, according to travel agency Flight Centre.
“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.”
Lucky fans with tickets are worried about maximizing their Swift experience.
Swift fans are doing everything they can to attend her concerts, including charter flights.
One ticket holder in Melbourne even posted on a fan forum suggesting that ‘adult diapers’ might be a good idea to ensure they don’t miss any songs while waiting in line for the toilet.
‘A bit silly question, go to Melbourne N1. Is anyone thinking about using an adult diaper? I REALLY don’t want to miss a second,” the anonymous post asked.
Tour organizers are also concerned about the estimated 15,000 fans who will show up 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.