Qantas and Jetstar are on standby to add more flights and thousands of seats across the network after this weekend's preliminary finals to help get more interstate fans to Melbourne for the grand final.
With three interstate teams contesting the preliminary finals, Qantas and Jetstar have dozens of aircraft and crews ready to help get fans on their way.
Friday night preliminary final
Both airlines will put on sale additional flights from either Sydney or Perth after the final siren on Friday night depending on which team wins.
Saturday night preliminary final
Additional flights from Brisbane will be added after the game on Saturday to help Brisbane-based fans get to Melbourne next weekend should their team win on Saturday night.
As always, we encourage fans to book as early as possible.
These flights are on top of the record number of flights Qantas and Jetstar have added for West Australian fans travelling to Melbourne next weekend, with more than 8,000 seats already added since May, which is almost double the number added in 2024 for footy finals.
The extra Qantas and Jetstar flights will operate between 23 and 28 September, to help get people to and from Melbourne.
The footy finals coincide with school holidays kicking off around the country and a number of major sporting fixtures and concerts.
To support the busy period, the Group has aircraft and crew on standby, and operational contingencies in place across the network for added resilience on the busiest days, supporting customers through the holiday and footy finals period.
Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said the airlines were well prepared for the busy footy finals series.
"This has already been a record-breaking season for grand final bookings and we're on standby to add more flights as teams are locked in for the final game of the season.
"The extra flights are on top of our existing schedule and seats are being snapped up, so we encourage fans and customers travelling during the school holidays to book as early as possible."
As of 3pm Thursday 17 September 2026 AEST, the lowest one-way fares were available from:
Thursday 24 September 2026:
- Perth to Melbourne: from $1,211 on Qantas
- Brisbane to Melbourne: from $469 on Jetstar
- Sydney to Melbourne: from $329 on Jetstar
Friday 25 September 2026:
- Perth to Melbourne: from $829 on Jetstar
- Brisbane to Melbourne: from $409 on Jetstar
- Sydney to Melbourne: from $239 on Jetstar
