We were tasked with arranging aircraft charters for 700 passengers and 500 pieces of luggage before the game’s location was confirmed.
Flying a football team to their college bowl game
A university’s athletic director asked us to arrange flights to a college football bowl in December 2024. Advance planning was essential in order to manage the complex logistics of moving nearly 700 passengers and 500 pieces of luggage across the United States, but the team wouldn’t find out where they were playing until the week before departing. We got to work on a flexible air charter solution.
Our Solution
Route: Virginia > Florida
Aircraft: Boeing B737-800, Airbus A330-300 and Airbus A330-200
The college team needed to transport a range of personnel and cargo to the game, including players, coaches, football equipment, a band and their instruments. We decided to split the extensive consignment between three large airliners, providing plenty of space for the passengers and their luggage to travel comfortably.
Leveraging our industry relationships, we sourced a Boeing B737 and two Airbus A330s before the location of the game was finalised, initially agreeing on six potential routes before later confirming the team were playing in Florida.
Our experts worked with multiple operators to create a seamless itinerary, minimising congestion by staggering the three departures and flying the team into more than one airport. When one of the aircraft became grounded and the carrier didn’t have a like-for-like replacement, we arranged the charter of a 30-seat regional airliner to supplement their smaller back-up aircraft, ensuring all the passengers still arrived on time.
The Finer Details
Rapid Response: Despite the complicated nature of the brief, we were able to provide several charter options within 24 hours of receiving this request.
Buying Power: Our elite contacts and outstanding reputation allowed us to secure the most competitively priced option for our client.