An NCAA Division I football team required air travel for 550 of its players, coaches, fans and members of its marching band to a bowl game nearly 1,500 miles away from their campus.
Flying Team, Fans and Marching Band
An NCAA Division I football team required air travel for 550 of its players, coaches, fans and members of its marching band to a bowl game nearly 1,500 miles away from their campus.
The players, coaching staff and marching band needed to arrive the day before the game to acclimatize and prepare, whilst the fans were to fly out on game day. The team and band also required enough luggage capacity to transport their equipment and instruments.
SOLUTION
Within 48 hours of the initial enquiry, we had created a solution, sourced three appropriate aircraft and had all involved contracted.
To accommodate the team and the marching band in suitable comfort we sourced a modern widebodied Boeing, utilizing our market knowledge and contacts to find one that could do the trip at short notice. We also organized catering that met the players' dietary requirements and enough cargo capacity for their equipment and the band’s instruments.
The fans required a different kind of air travel, namely an option that would get them there comfortably en masse and provide a cost effective option, so teams from our four US offices worked to source the most suitable options – two narrow-body airliners with room for all of them.
For all six sectors, the aircraft flew out of and into the airport closest to the campus and stadium, minimizing transit time before and after the long flights. Working with the airline, the airport service providers and relevant authorities, we tailored the schedules to give the players and band maximum time to prepare and acclimatize, whilst organizing for the fans to arrive on game day and thus minimize disruption to their studies.