THEY THINK IT’S ALL OVER(PRICED)
Football fans scramble for £1,500 flights, £2,300 hotels and £3,500 tickets for all-English Champions League final in Madrid
FURIOUS football fans say the tourism industry is profiteering from the Champions League final by ramping up prices for flights, tickets and accommodation.
Tottenham and Liverpool supporters complained of being charged more than £1,500 for non-stop return flights to Madrid with EasyJet to watch the all-English showdown on June 1.
And those desperately searching for accommodation struggled to get a hotel room for less than £1,000.
The cheapest room at the Hilton Madrid Airport hotel is £2,301, with the same room available for just £124 a week later.
Consumer website Moneysavingheroes found that small one-bedroom apartments on Airbnb were charging up to £2,500, with even the cheaper ones costing more than £1,000. Meanwhile, ‘category one’ match tickets were being sold on the black market for up to £43,100 each – more than 80 times their face value of £513.
Even the cheapest level of tickets, category four, are being resold for nearly 60 times their £60 value, starting at £3,480.
The backlash against EasyJet, which spread on social media yesterday, was spearheaded by Liverpool Metro mayor Steve Rotheram, who described the budget airline’s behaviour as ‘shameful’. Liverpool fan Mr Rotheram said: ‘EasyJet hiking up prices by 683 per cent for return flights to Madrid is quite simply profiteering from the passion of football fans. This is nothing new but entirely shameful.’
His followers agreed, with one calling the prices ‘ disgraceful’ and another saying they were ‘absolutely immoral’.
Although Tottenham fans travelling from London have more options, last night EasyJet was quoting prices of as much as £1,500 for a flight from Gatwick to Madrid on the eve of the final, and returning the day after the match.
Responding to Mr Rotheram’s criticism, EasyJet said it had a ‘ demand- led’ pricing structure and did not change its prices ‘artificially’.
Many fans are booking indirect flights to reduce costs, even though they face tortuous journeys. From Liverpool, one option costing £587 involves flying via Bucharest in Romania. The outbound journey takes 15 hours and the return takes 21 hours.
Anthoulla Achilleos, of the Tottenham Supporters’ Trust, said: ‘They need to put on more flights. The prices are ridiculous’.
Former Liverpool player Jim Beglin told EasyJet on Twitter: ‘You call it business. The punters call it nothing but pure greed.
‘Profits before people and it’s not just you, your kind are all at it. It’s a disgusting practice.’
Thomas Cook Sport promised to come to the rescue and said it was organising flights for fans who have tickets to the game at a cost of £559 per person, with other airlines expected to follow suit.
George Charles, of Moneysavingheroes, said fans will have to be more creative. He suggested taking a ferry and driving, and staying in a hostel or camping, adding: ‘A 90-minute game is not worth anyone going into debt for.’
Liverpool fans also expressed their fury after being told they had won VIP tickets to the final – only to then be informed it was a mistake. Zavvi, an entertainment retail store formed from the now defunct Zavvi shops, accidentally sent the ‘winner’ emails to everyone on its mailing list.
‘Nothing new but entirely shameful’