Cup deal's most expensive seats are on the bus

By Michael Dickison

NZ Herald·

21 Jul, 2011 05:30 PM2 mins to read

For $6735, the rugby fan secured tickets to the two semifinals, the bronze final and the grand final, all at Eden Park. Photo / Richard Robinson

A set of $7000 "travel packages" to the final four Rugby World Cup matches has tickets worth $844 - and essentially $5891 worth of bus rides between SkyCity and Eden Park.

A man who bought the packages more than a year ago said it was an "absolute rip", but House of Travel defended its premiums as the price of guaranteed seats.

For $6735, the rugby fan, who did not want to be identified, secured tickets to the two semifinals, the bronze final and the grand final, all at Eden Park.

An early brochure from January last year said ticket categories could not be confirmed. But the man's tickets are Category C, the second-cheapest seating category, with a combined value of $844.

The remainder of the package is its travel component - "return coach transfers from central Auckland city to Eden Park".

"We just didn't want to miss the finals or the semis, so we did it to get tickets as soon as we could," said the purchaser.

"But we've been stuck behind the posts [for the Category C seats]. With the actual cost of the tickets, what they've given us is a $6000 bus ride."

The man acknowledged that legally, House of Travel was in the right.

"I don't mind them making some money - but this is an absolute rip. It's not like we went to some backyard scalper," he said.

House of Travel retail director Brent Thomas said the premium was not for the bus transport but for the certainty of getting a seat at the final and semifinals.

People wanting finals tickets early had only three options: travel packages, hospitality packages or entering a ballot.

Official travel agencies are allowed to sell guaranteed tickets only by including a travel component - which can be hotel rooms or flights, and in this case is the bus service from SkyCity to Eden Park.