Have you ever heard of an airline adding more flights so people can attend a concert? Believe it or not, in light of artist Taylor Swift's blockbuster "Eras" tour, certain airlines have made significant moves to accommodate a massive increase in fans traveling to see her perform.

It's a bizarre scenario, for sure. With that being said, let's look at how the "Swiftie" craze has driven up airline demand worldwide.

The Numbers Don't Lie

According to Amadeus travel data, flight searches to various places in the Asia-Pacific region hosting Taylor Swift concerts experienced significant spikes around concert dates. "Eras" tour concert tickets in Australia were first sold on June 30. Shortly after, ticket sales to Melbourne and Sydney increased 44% between weeks 24 and 26 of 2023.

The ticket surge was even greater across the strait in New Zealand. During the same two-week period, ticket sales from New Zealand to the two aforementioned Australian cities were up an insane 240%. In weeks 23 and 27, travel searches to Singapore grew around 18% in light of Swift and Coldplay announcing concerts in the city-state.

Moving to Japan, Swift's concert announcements influenced an average increase of 15% in domestic flight searches between weeks 28 and 30. International flight searches to Tokyo from weeks 29 to 30 were up to around 32% week-over-week.

Such growth represents the sheer enthusiasm and excitement of Taylor Swift's fans wanting to see her in concert. This is especially true given that the artist doesn't normally embark on such huge global tours.

Concert Postponed? No Worries.

The "Eras" tour entered South America with three sold-out shows in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires. However, due to severe weather, Swift announced she was postponing her Friday night show in Buenos Aires to Sunday. LATAM, the largest airline in South America, responded to this announcement with something unusual.

The airline announced that it would waive change fees for anyone rebooking return flights from Buenos Aires so that customers could attend the rescheduled concert. LATAM encouraging its concert-going passengers to spend an extra few days in Argentina contributed significantly to the local economy.

The concert's postponement influenced more travelers from abroad to extend their stay in the country, further motivated if they were flying LATAM due to the eliminated change fees and fare differences. This means visitors to Argentina for the concert could bring more business to Argentinian services, whether hotels, restaurants, or retailers.

The effects of "Swiftonomics" could be felt worldwide as the "Eras" tour expands to over 25 cities across South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe over the coming months.

2,000 Extra Seats

Swift announced that seven shows will be played when the "Eras" Tour hits Australia in February 2024. There will be three in Melbourne and four in Sydney. As far as Oceania goes, no concerts will be hosted in New Zealand. 

Not to worry, as New Zealand's hometown airline, Air New Zealand, announced a massive schedule accommodation for those wanting to travel to Australia to see Swift perform. Air New Zealand is adding 2,000 new seats to its normal schedule to accommodate the expected increase in Kiwi Swifties headed to Australia.

New flights have been added from the major cities of Wellington, Christchurch, and Auckland to Melbourne and Sydney on the dates the Australian cities will host concerts. Two thousand extra seats added just for the few days that the "Eras" tour is playing in Australia shows the insane demand for such concerts.

For example, Air New Zealand flies its 777-300ER and 787-9 between Auckland and Melbourne. The airline configures its 777-300ER fleet with 338 seats. 2,000 divided by 338 is just shy of six. Of course, that's not to say that Air New Zealand is flying six extra 777 flights just for Swifties, but it puts into perspective how monumental the demand is to fly to Australia from New Zealand for these concerts.

Air New Zealand has already received over 3,500 bookings from New Zealand to Australia during "Eras" Tour dates, a phenomenon called the "Swift surge." The carrier, fittingly enough, will operate one of its flights under the callsign "NZ-1989". The "1989" refers to one of Swift's previous album releases.

But if the 2,000 extra seats weren't enough, Air New Zealand advises concertgoers to book flights quickly as even these additional flights will be selling out...swiftly.