Flight of the Dockers: More airline services deployed as purple army sets sights on Sydney

As Fremantle fans continue to celebrate their epic win over Geelong, Qantas has added more than 500 seats to help West Australian footy fans fly across the country to get to Friday’s preliminary final in Sydney this Friday.

More than 30 Qantas and Jetstar flights and almost 8000 seats have already been added to get Western Australian fans to and from Melbourne for the finals series, as well as an extra flight from Brisbane to Melbourne for Saturday’s match.

Friday night’s final will be the third time Fremantle have faced Sydney in a preliminary final, with the two teams currently locked on one win each.

Sydney won the first meeting in 2006 at ANZ Stadium by 35 points, before Fremantle squared the ledger with a 25-point victory in 2013 at Subiaco Oval on their way to their maiden grand final appearance.

Tickets to the Sydney-Dockers preliminary final sold out within 45 minutes of going on sale to the public on Monday.

While the AFL does not publicly release the exact cap on the total number of tickets reserved for away team members, the travelling club is typically granted between 15,000 and 20,000 tickets for the SCG, which can hold up to 48,000 people.

The Dockers’ only other appearance in the penultimate match of the year was when the team faced Hawthorn in 2015 at Subiaco Oval, when they lost by 27 points.

The preliminary final will begin at 7.40pm AEST at the SCG, with the winner of the clash booking their spot in the 2026 grand final.

A Qantas spokesperson said the airline had seen a massive surge in demand for flights.

“Over the weekend, we put on an extra service from Perth to Sydney for this Thursday, as well as an additional flight from Brisbane to Melbourne,” they said.

“Today we’ve added another Perth to Sydney flight on Friday morning giving more supporters the chance to back their team at the ground.”

On the Saturday after the Dockers’ victory at Optus Stadium, Qantas announced it had added an extra flight from Perth on Thursday, September 17 to help footy fans get to Sydney.

Flight QF656 operated by a Boeing 737 will depart Perth at 8.15am and arrive in Sydney at 2.20pm.

One-way fares were available from $629 on Saturday morning.

Qantas will continue to monitor demand for footy finals, including between Brisbane and Melbourne for the preliminary finals.

The airline reminded potential passengers that its cheapest seats sell the fastest, so fans are encouraged to book early.

Now that the club has qualified for a preliminary final, members will be required to register for the 2026 grand final ballot through Ticketek, should they wish to buy a ticket before the premiership contenders are locked in.

On Tuesday, members will receive an email confirming their priority group, registration timeframe and eligible barcode for registration.

Fremantle fans will have the chance to watch the team train at Cockburn ARC Oval on Tuesday from 9am before they leave for Sydney on Wednesday.

The last time Fremantle and Sydney faced off was in round 18, with the Dockers running away 38-point winners after a nine-goal final quarter performance, despite going goalless in the first half.