Along with military charters, sports teams are some of the most prolific users of large airline-sized charters in the industry. The teams use them to move the players, coaches, staff, and sometimes media for out of town events. Football (both American and Soccer), basketball, baseball, car racing, hockey, and other teams require the ability to move around the globe in rapid time, outside of the limitations of traditional airline schedules. Being able to travel privately also limits media and fan attention allowing players to focus on their performance without distractions.
Who Flies Sports Charters?
While a few teams have their own aircraft, most teams often rely on airlines to handle the chartering. It is also common for universities to charter aircraft for both the team and the fans, sometimes even offering discounted flights for students to attend out-of-town games.
I have seen Allegiant, American, Atlas, Delta, Sun Country, United, and other airlines run these charters. Some airlines have specially retrofitted aircraft cabins designed for sports charters. This is particularly common with the NBA and NFL. Some teams like the New England Patriots even have their own aircraft owned by the team and operated by a charter airline. Other teams like the Detroit Tigers operate one of the only still-flying MD-81s.
Airlines like Sun Country, Atlas Air, SwiftAir, and GlobalX also operate charters for college and professional sports teams.
What makes these charters unique?
Below is a video of very unique sub-fleet of Delta 757 that have been configured as a VIP transport with lots of comfort and room. Perfect for big and tall NBA and NFL players.
The World of F1 Sports Charters
I am lucky enough to live in a city that has a Formula One (F1) track and in October we see a massive influx of aviation traffic. First, it starts with the cargo transports (747s) containing the F1 cars, tires and other gear. Next, the crew and drivers come in on commercial aviation or bizjets, followed by fans from all around the world, including one-off charters that bring interesting planes in (such as an Iberia A340). This is one of my favorite times of the year in Austin for plane spotting. We also have College Sports and a NASCAR race held here that brings in teams and fans. Some of these racing teams have multiple aircraft that are mostly in the bizjet family.
I will break down a list of sports and the known aircraft assigned to each of them.
NFL Football
- Arizona Cardinals – 2002 Boeing 777-232(ER) N867DA (img)
- New England Patriots – 1991 Boeing 767-323(ER) N36NE (img)
- New England Patriots – 1991 Boeing 737-323(ER) N225NE (img)
- Indianapolis Colts – 1999 Boeing 737-72U N101TD (img)
- Dallas Cowboys – 2001 Gulfstream V N1DC (img)
- Indianapolis Colts – 2001 Gulfstream IVSP N106TD (img)
- Indianapolis Colts – 1998 Gulfstream IVSP N107TD (img)
- Los Angeles Chargers – 1997 Gulfstream V N70AG (img)
- Philadelphia Eagles – 2008 Bombardier Global 5000 N468KL (img)
Car Racing
- Tony Stewart (Car Racing) Cessna 525 Citationjet CJ4 N329SH (image)
- Chase Elliot (Car Racing) Cessna 525B CitationJet CJ3 N9CE (image)
- Brad Keselowski (Car Racing) Bombardier Learjet 45 N229BK (image)
- Marco Andretti (Car Racing) BAe 125-800XP N800MA (image)
- Kyle Busch (Car Racing) Cessna Citation Latitude N518KB (image)
- JR Motorsports (Car Racing) N38AD, N388JR, N477GJ, N560MT
- Dale Earnhardt Family (Car Racing) N138DE, N1DE, N3DE, N500DE
- Joe Gibbs Racing (Car Racing) N518JG, N519JG, N520JG
- Denny Hamlin Racing (Car Racing) Challenger 601 N400DH (image)
- Hendrick Motorsports (Car Racing) N1RH, N500RH, N508RH, N509RH, N670GD
- Stewart-Haas Racing (Car Racing) Bombardier CRJ-200LR N141SH (image), N60GH (image)
- Penske Racing(Car Racing) N500PRRichard Childress Racing (Car Racing) N3RC (image)
College Sports
- Alabama Crimson Tide Foundation N1UA
- Aggies (Texas A&M University) N12AM
- Arkansas Razorbacks (University of Arkansas) N41UA
- Auburn Tigers (Auburn University) N10AU, N20AU
- Clemson Tigers (University of Clemson) N934CT
- Florida Gators (University of Florida) N100FG, N101FG
- Gamecocks (University of South Carolina) N454GC
- Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) N1UM
- Vols (University of Tennessee Knoxville) N865UT, N794UT
Other Sports
- Dallas Mavericks – 1992 Boeing 757-256 N801DM (img)
- Houston Rockets – 1992 Boeing 767-322(ER) N625HR (img)
- Las Vegas Golden Knights (NHL) – 2009 Gulfstream IV N622GK (img)
- WWE – 2007 Bombardier BD-700 Global 5000 N247WE (img)
The data above is not exhaustive but does cover many aircraft used in sports aviation. There are planes as large as 767s and as small as (twin-engine turboprops) Beech 300s owned by these organizations.
