Yeh, ha……….the Cowboys are coming……
A report in the Townsville Bulleting says that Cowboys fans are planning to make a stampede to Sydney, with Virgin Blue boosting capacity at Townsville to help take Cowboys fans to the preliminary final this weekend.
The airline will provide around 40 extra seats on flights to Sydney later this week and – if the popularity of the Townsville Bulletin’s own charter flights is anything to go by – it was a good move.
Around 50 people lined up outside the Bulletin’s Ogden St office before 8.30am yesterday to secure the hottest ticket in town.
The Townsville Bulletin has stepped up and chartered two jet aircraft to take fans to the big game and ensure plenty of support for the Cowboys when they take on Manly at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Packages comprising return flights with meat pies, beer and a Cowboys trivia quiz, one night’s twin-share accommodation in a five-star Sydney hotel, all ground transfers and a reserved seat in the Cowboys area at Saturday’s night’s big game cost $750 per person.
Bulletin marketing and promotions manager Doug Kingston said there were only 10 out of 150 seats still available last night.
“Anyone wanting to book a trip can call 4722 4486 during business hours or come to the Townsville Bulletin front office in Ogden St from 8.30am,” he said.
Meanwhile Virgin Blue also announced yesterday it had such faith in the North Queensland Cowboys it had already upgraded to a larger aircraft for the grand final next week.
“We are keeping the faith,” Virgin spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said.
The airline will use the larger 737-800 series aircraft at Townsville for some of its services later this week providing about an extra 40 seats.
A spokeswoman for Queensland’s biggest regional carrier MacAir Airlines said it was considering operating a charter service should the Cowboys make the grand final, possibly using its new 50-seat turbo-prop ATR42-500.
Townsville Airport general manager Maurice Geary said the airport was working with companies such as Virgin to dress the terminal to support the Cowboys.
Both Jetstar and Qantas said they were unable to boost capacity for the weekend, although a spokesman for Qantas said they were upgrading services between Sydney and Brisbane.
Meanwhile, for those who cannot get a flight, there are always the buses, with Greyhound offering a special fare of $490 return from Townsville to Sydney and a further 15 per cent off for children under 14.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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