Virgin cabin crew got involved with the Taylor Swift fever on Thursday just hours ahead of the global megastar’s sold-out Eras tour coming Down Under.
Swifties have been overcome with excitement waiting for Taylor, 34, to kick off her hotly-anticipated n leg of the Eras tour at Melbourne’s MCG on Friday night.
The American singer made a low-key arrival into the country in the early hours of Thursday morning as her private jet was seen taxiing into Melbourne Airport, though the star herself wasn’t spotted.
Eager fans have been busy travelling across to get to Melbourne for the first string of shows, with Swifties taking over commercial flights amid the mayhem.
And Virgin cabin crew couldn’t help but get involved as they made an in-flight announcement laden with Taylor’s lyrics after touching down in Melbourne.
Virgin cabin crew got involved with the Taylor Swift fever on Thursday just hours ahead of the global megastar’s sold-out Eras tour coming Down Under
They were greeted by rapturous applause from fans as they made the humorous announcement while thanking passengers for choosing to fly with them.
In a video shared to Instagram by Nine presenter Catriona Rowntree, one member of cabin crew told passengers: ‘Thank you to everyone for choosing to fly with us, it has 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 of our Swifties on board, your Wildest Dreams are about to come true! Shake It Off in style at the Eras tour.’
Alongside the video, Catriona added in a caption: ‘Swifties are taking over ! Bless you cabin crew for joining the fun.’
As well as commercial flights being packed with Swifties, others are going to the desperate measure of chartering their own flights to get to her shows, according to travel agency Flight Centre.
‘Commercial flights and accommodation are at a premium and we’ve even seen some travellers opting for a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,’ Flight Centre Travel Group global leisure CEO James Kavanagh told news.com.au.
‘While it may seem extreme, we’re not surprised to see people opting for private flights through our charter aircraft company AVMIN and we’ve had bookings for both Taylor’s Sydney and Melbourne shows.’
In a video shared to Instagram by Nine presenter Catriona Rowntree, cabin crew hilariously made an in-flight announcement laden with Taylor’s lyrics after touching down in Melbourne
Flight Centre have revealed commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne cost approximately $569 for the February 16 show. The following week, the same route drops dramatically to $118.
With more than 600,000 tickets already having been sold, organisers are concerned about the 15,000 fans who are estimated to arrive at the pop star’s sold-out shows, despite not having tickets.
Venues NSW has warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from Accor Stadium to prevent 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 with other popular music venues where people can’t get tickets, people do just turn up to sort of soak up the atmosphere, and you can’t stop them other than to manage crowds,’ he said.
‘We are not encouraging ticketless fans to attend, but part of our contingency plan is allowing for extra people who may be travelling who haven’t got 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 for all of Taylor’s 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 globe’s most-tracked flight with almost 1,500 of her eager fans watching its trek across the Pacific.
She travelled in style on board a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxurious private jet that can carry up to 17 passengers, and was promptly escorted to her accommodation after her 12-hour flight.
The singer will have less than two days to get over her jet lag before she will storm the stage for her first n show since 2018.