Argentine fans are rushing to book flights to attend the World Cup final.
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BUENOS AIRES, July 16 (Reuters Sports Service) - Argentina's football fans have been snapping up seats on flights to the United States in a matter of hours after the national airline offered special flights to attend Sunday's World Cup final against Spain in New Jersey, confirming the country's fans are willing to pay almost anything to support the defending champions.
The state-owned Argentine Airlines said that two special flights between Buenos Aires and New York, for which tickets went on sale late Wednesday night, sold out by Thursday morning after reaching their full capacity of 540 seats.
Ticket prices ranged around five thousand dollars for economy class and ten thousand dollars for business class, which is far above the usual prices.
This record turnout came after Argentina beat England 2-1 in Atlanta on Wednesday to qualify for the final scheduled for July 19, while Spain qualified after beating France 2-0 on Tuesday.
The title-deciding match will be held at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford.
The website of Aerolineas Argentinas showed that there were no available seats on its flights to New York until July 21.
A company spokesperson added that flights to Miami were also completely sold out, as the South Florida region serves as a transit point for fans hoping to reach the final match venue.
Other airlines continued to offer seats on Thursday, though most were for indirect flights rather than the direct flights reserved for fans. American Airlines listed fares on its website for flights between Buenos Aires and New York for July travel, while Copa and LATAM listed options for travel between Buenos Aires and New York or Buenos Aires and Miami.
Despegart travel company said searches for flights to New York jumped 6,000 percent in the hours following the final whistle, a clear indication of the extraordinary demand triggered by Argentina's bid to retain the world title.
For Argentinians, whose love for the national team has repeatedly translated into expensive support trips, the chance to see Lionel Messi and his teammates take on Spain for the world title seems to have outweighed any considerations of high travel costs.