Taylor Swift lifts demand on airline tickets to Europe
Some of Taylor Swift’s "Swifties" are jetting to Europe to see the singer live as she continues the European portion of her wildly popular Eras Tour.
Swift has already performed a handful of concerts in Paris and Stockholm as part of the European segment that kicked off earlier in the month, with even more shows slated across the continent over the summer.
Local fans have been clamoring to go to those European concerts — and so have Americans who have decided flying across the Atlantic Ocean to attend was worth it.
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Consequently, some airlines have observed Swifties contributing to higher demand for flying to European cities around her concerts. CNN earlier reported on the trend for carriers United and Delta.
United Airlines has observed "increased demand" for summer flights to various places in Europe on certain dates near Swift’s tour there.
The airline is reporting some of the largest increases ranged from about 20% more passengers for Dublin on June 27 and June 28 compared to a year ago to roughly 45% more passengers for Milan on July 8 and July 9 with Swifties traveling internationally for shows, it told FOX Business.
The lift in demand for United flights to Lisbon, the next stop on Swift’s Eras Tour, has amounted to approximately 25% amid the busy Memorial Day travel period and her shows scheduled for this weekend, with Madrid showing a similar jump, per United.
Meanwhile, Delta is "going to be operating our largest-ever international summer schedule and are certainly seeing an increase in flying to Europe around her tour," according to the Atlanta-based airline.
"In addition to for Taylor’s tour, many music fans will travel abroad to see artists like Jonas Brothers, Metallica, Coldplay and more perform across Europe," the company said in a statement to FOX Business. "This continues the trend of people going to the ends of the earth to see their favorite stars perform."
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American Airlines said it was "seeing increased demand on certain transatlantic routes, including Zurich, Milan, Munich, Amsterdam and Dublin, surrounding concert dates for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour" too.
Some fans of Swift have perceived Eras Tour tickets for European dates to be not nearly as pricey as ones for shows in the U.S.
A mother in New York City told FOX Business she and her daughter are traveling to Madrid to see Swift with concert tickets that cost $350 each. She also said she is paying for the flights using airline miles and staying with a relative while in Spain.
Another source said one of their family members was selling two extra floor tickets to Swift’s May 29 show in Madrid for $600 each. Swift has two dates scheduled there.
Data has previously indicated some Swifties have been looking abroad to attend the Eras Tour.
In its "2023 Year In Live Experiences" report, StubHub said over 50% of tickets "purchased on StubHub and viagogo for all Taylor’s international shows in 2024, cumulatively, are from U.S. buyers" as of late November. It released the report in December.
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Ticket sales have helped turn the Eras Tour into a serious moneymaker, on top of the tour bringing a boost to local economies when it visits.
In December, Pollstar reported Swift’s tour had produced a gross of $1.04 billion over the 12-month period ending Nov. 15. It suggested the production could wind up generating $2.165 billion total.