Ryanair does charters too! - European Champions Cup 18 - 20 December 2020

The Rugby Union equivalent to the Champions League is the Heineken Champions Cup. This competition has been changed a lot this season due to COVID-19 and the group stage in particular is very short, but intense. Unfortunately for 18-20 December 2020, two matches had to be cancelled, after a COVID-19 cluster was detected in the camp of the defending champions, Exeter Chiefs. They should have played in Toulouse. The other match to be cancelled was between Glasgow Warriors and Lyon Olympique Universitaire.

Friday 18 December 2020

Scarlets vs. Toulon

Winners over Sale Sharks in the first round, Toulon travel to West Wales to face Scarlets. They will do so with Trade Air, a well-known charter outfit, also in Rugby circles:

TDR317 TLN 1500-1605 CWL F100 9A-BTE (17/12/20)

TDR318 CWL 2330-xxxx(+1) TLN F100 9A-BTE (18/12/20)

Wasps vs. Montpellier (in Coventry)

What ever RX as a code would mean is yet unclear - but it looks like this is the charter that will take Montpellier Rugby to Birmingham, from where they will travel to Coventry on the road for the Friday night game away at Wasps (formerly of London) at the Ricoh Arena.

AEH011 MPL 1330-1430 BHX E145 F-HRAV (17/12/20)

AEH012 BHX 0030-0335 MPL E145 F-HRAV (19/12/20)

Saturday 19 December 2020

Leinster vs. Northampton Saints

The quick trip across the Irish Sea is always good for a charter flight. In these circumstances, it is rather unusual to see a TUI Boeing 737-800 being used for that trip though, as the usual preference is with smaller aircraft. Surely, Saints will take whatever will take them to Dublin though, as the Aviva is a difficult enough place to go and win a game:

BY8040 BHX xxxx-1155 DUB B738 (18/12/20)

Gloucester Rugby vs. Ulster

Ulster will travel to Gloucester to meet a side that has been beaten badly last week in Lyon. Having lost their opening game at home against Toulouse though, the visiting team will have to make up for something.

WX9364 BFS 1430-1535 BRS CRJ9 (18/12/20)

ASM Clermont Auvergne vs. Munster

Clashes between "les Jaunards" and the Munster men have high tradition in the Heineken Champions Cup. They are always hard-fought and provide very tight results. Clermont may not count on its vibrant home support at the Stade Marcel-Michelin at the moment, but at the same time, this also means that Munster's fine-singing away support is not coming along either. Interesting enough, Munster will be traveling from Shannon with Ryanair:

FR8663 SNN xxxx-1405 CFE B738 (18/12/20)

FR8664 CFE 2300-0030(+1) SNN B738 (19/12/20)

AFC Champions League Final - 19 December 2020

Persepolis FC vs. Ulsan Hyundai (in Al-Wakrah, Qatar)

While the Western playoffs had already advanced to the stage that Persepolis FC had qualified for the final, Ulsan Hyundai only qualified on 13 December, by virtue of an overtime win over Vissel Kobe in Doha. The final of the competition will be held in Al Wakrah, south of Doha. Persepolis traveled from Tehran with Iran Air:

IR5301 THR 1400-1515 DOH A320 EP-IEF (13/12/20)

IR5300 DOH 1615-1830 THR A320 EP-IEF (13/12/20)

The knockouts in sight - UEFA Champions League 9 December 2020

FC Bayern München vs. Lokomotiv Moscow

Bayern are already through to the Round of 16 and Lokomotiv is already out. Yet this game still has to be played and may be an opportunity for Bayern's second string to show off before the international season heads for the christmas break:

SU7187 VKO 1700-1835 MUC A320 (07/12/20)

SU7186 MUC 1335-1710 VKO A320 (10/12/20)

FC Salzburg vs. Atlético Madrid

The fact that Atlético conceded a late goal against Bayern in the previous game means that Salzburg is still in the running for a spot in next year's knockout stage. A place in the Europa League awaits in case that they will not win the game against the Colchoneros however:

UX1903 MAD xxxx-1335 SZG B738 (08/12/20)

UX2003 SZG 1100-xxxx MAD B738 (10/12/20)

Internazionale vs. Shakhtar Donezk

Group B is the tightest of affairs in this season's Champions League so far, with all four teams in the running for the spots in the Champions League round of 16 or the Europa League round of 32. Inter will have to make sure that they win against Shakhtar Donezk though, as this is the only way for them to make sure that they still have any hope of going anywhere internationally in spring. Shakhtar will arrive from Kyiv with SkyUp Airlines.

PQ2505 KBP xxxx-1135 MXP B737 (08/12/20)

PQ2506 MXP 0105-xxxx KBP B737 (10/12/20)

Real Madrid vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach

The Germans are traveling to Madrid, looking to book a place in the round of 16, while Real is looking to make up for not just one, but two defeats at the hands of Shakhtar Donzek in previous rounds. For Mönchengladbach, a point is enough to go through, while in case of a draw, Real would have to hope for an Inter win over Shakhtar. Borussia Mönchengladbach will travel to Madrid with TUI:

TUI8958 DUS 1400-1640 MAD B738 (08/12/20)

TUI8959 MAD 1110-1340 DUS B738 (10/12/20)

Olympiacos Piraeus vs. FC Porto

BRO20 OPO 1445-xxxx ATH B733 G-SWRD (08/12/20)

BRO21 ATH xxxx-0430 OPO B733 G-SWRD (10/12/20)

BRO21 OPO 0530-xxxx STN B733 G-SWRD (10/12/20, ferry flt)

Manchester City vs. Olympique Marseille

(info courtesy AlphaFive on Facebook)

City are already through and OM only have a place in the Europa League to play for, in a distance duel with Olympiacos who are level on points. OM finally scored their first two goals this week and will hope to find some more success against Pep Guardiola's side in Manchester:

VOE9282 MRS xxxx-1630 MAN A319 EC-MTF (08/12/20)

VOE9283 MAN 2345-xxxx(+1) MRS A319 EC-MTF (09/12/20)

Ajax FC vs. Atalanta Bergamo

Atalanta brought themselves back into contention with an away win at Liverpool, but a disappointing draw at home against Midtjylland could yet prove to be too much to overcome in this group. Atalanta will travel as usual, on an Enter Air Boeing 737-800:

ENT531 BGY 1000-1130 AMS B738 (08/12/20)

ENT532 AMS 2230-2359 BGY B738 (09/12/20)

Man United to Leipzig, Dortmund to Russia - UEFA Champions League 8 December 2020

Stade Rennais vs. Sevilla CF

The French hosts may be out of the Champions League already, but they get one more game against the Europa League title holders, who for once will not get the chance to defend their title. Sevilla will arrive in Rennes with Privilege Style, as usual:

PVG1890 SVQ 1100-xxxx RNS B752 (07/12/20)

Chelsea FC vs. FK Krasnodar

Thanks to a 4-0 win away in Seville, Chelsea are through to the round of 16. Krasnodar on the other hand have made it to the Europa League round of 32, as they can not be moved away from the 3rd place in this group any more. In what could very well be a first landing, they will arrive at Farnborough of all places, with Ural Airlines, on an A320:

SVR3337 KRR 1130-1315 FAB A320 (07/12/20)

SS Lazio Roma vs. Club Brugge

Brugge still have a chance to make it into the round of 16. To do so, they would have to beat Lazio in Rome however, which is not an easy prospect. Brugge will travel to Italy with Brussels Airlines:

SN1155 OST xxxx-1210 FCO A319 (07/12/20)

FK Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Borussia Dortmund

Already qualified for the next round, Borussia Dortmund travel to Zenit who are already out of the competition. They will do so with Eurowings and most probably their "own" branded A320 D-AIZR. The return flight will be to Paderborn, to allow a swift return from Russia, despite the night flight restrictions at Dortmund.

EW1909 DTM 1430-1905 LED A320 D-AIZR (07/12/20)

EW1909 LED 0130-0215 PAD A320 D-AIZR (09/12/20)

FC Barcelona vs. Juventus Turin

Juve will once again face Barcelona, in a matchup that has been a final before, in 2015 for example. Both sides are already through to the round of 16 and all there is to play for is the group win. Barça has the advantage there, having beaten Juve 2-0 away in Turin in October. Juve will travel with Alitalia as usual:

AZ9014 TRN 1630-1810 BCN A319 (07/12/20)

AZ9015 BCN 0100-0235 TRN A319 (09/12/20)

Dynamo Kyiv vs. Ferencvaros Budapest

Ferencvaros will travel to Kyiv with Wizz Air, but unlike most other teams who arrive at Borispol airport, they will arrive at Zhuliany airport, where Wizz Air also send its regular flights to Kyiv.

WZZ9003 BUD 1015-1300 IEV A321 (07/12/20)

Paris St-Germain vs. Istanbul Basaksehir

The Turkish champions Basaksehir are already out, while PSG is looking to seal a spot in the round of 16. A draw may already be enough for PSG, but to make sure, they would probably want to win against a side that has "only" beaten Manchester United so far, but lost out against Leipzig very late in the previous game. Basaksehir will travel to Paris with Turkish Airlines.

TK3233 IST 1155-1335 CDG B738 (07/12/20)

TK3234 CDG 1200-1725 IST B738 (09/12/20)

RB Leipzig vs. Manchester United

Most of the time, Manchester United is traveling with thought-to-be VIP-type planes, so them using Air Horizont to Leipzig may come as a small surprise:

HAT2026 MAN 1500-1755 LEJ B734 (07/12/20)

HAT2027 LEJ 0055-0150 MAN B734 (09/12/20)

Kyiv at Juventus, Barcelona off to Budapest - UEFA Champions League 2 December 2020

Borussia Dortmund vs. SS Lazio Rome

It will be a first Champions League appearance for Tayaran Jet's newly designed Lazio Roma logojet, LZ-TYR, taking the team to Dortmund on the day before the game. Both teams can clinch a berth for the round of 16, depending on the other game in the group. A win for either side will mean that they are qualified for the knockout stage.

TJB201 FCO xxxx-1730 DTM B733 LZ-TYR (01/12/20)

Juventus Turin vs. Dynamo Kyiv

Dynamo have slightly more to play for than Juve, with the hosts already through to the round of 16. The Ukrainians however are still playing for a spot in the Europa League in spring. They will hope to maybe gather a point to gain a slight advantage over Ferencvaros.

7W7771 KBP 1600-1815 TRN A321 (30/11/20)

Ferencvaros Budapest vs. FC Barcelona

The final European away trip for this year takes Barcelona to Hungary, where they will face the Hungarian champions Ferencvaros. After flying out to the Ukraine with Privilege Style last week, it will be Air Europa in action again for this trip.

UX938 BCN 1530-xxxx BUD B738 (01/12/20)

Manchester United vs. Paris St-Germain

The big-spending French outfit managed to win a key game against Leipzig last week. Yet they still need further results to make sure they are the ones to make it into the knockout stage. PSG are very likely to use Air X' Boeing 737-500 9H-YES for their trip to Manchester, after this airframe was spotted arriving at Paris LBG on Monday afternoon:

AXY1** LBG xxxx-xxxx MAN B735 9H-YES (01/12/20)

Istanbul Basaksehir vs. RB Leipzig

Arguably the two youngest clubs in the competition meet in Istanbul. RBL will travel there with Turkish Airlines, on a Boeing 737-800.

TK3301 LEJ 0930-xxxx IST B738 (01/12/20)

FK Krasnodar vs. Stade Rennais

AXY10* RNS xxxx-xxxx KRR B735 9H-AHA (01/12/20)

Danes in Italy, Ajax to Liverpool - UEFA Champions League 1 December 2020

Lokomotiv Moscow vs. FC Salzburg

It may come as a slight surprise that Lokomotiv has managed two draws against Atlético in the past two games, which puts them into a favourable position against Salzburg. The Austrians ideally need a win in Moscow to remain in the race for a spot in spring's Europa League knock-out stages or even a spot in the Champions League round of 16. The latter though would require a win over Atlético in the last round, as well as Bayern losing in Madrid. Salzburg will travel to Moscow with Air X:

AXY2906 STN xxxx-1845 SZG B735 (29/11/20, ferry flt)

AXY3002 SZG 1030-xxxx SVO B735 (30/11/20)

AXY206 SVO xxxx-1355 SZG B735 (02/12/20)

AXY203 SZG 1455-xxxx KRR B735 (02/12/20, ferry flt)

Atlético Madrid vs. FC Bayern München

Bayern are already through and will win this group, with 12 points from four games. Atléti meanwhile have to look into their back mirror, because two draws agains Lokomotiv Moscow could spell late trouble for them. Points against the already qualified Bayern would ease Atléti's nerves a little. The German visitors will come to town with Lufthansa, on an Airbus A350:

LH2570 MUC 1530-1810 MAD A359 (30/11/20)

LH2571 MAD 1020-1300 MUC A359 (30/11/20)

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Internazionale

14 goals in four matches, including two big wins over Shakhtar Donetsk mean that Mönchengladbach are sitting on top of this group. A win against Inter would seal their deal for a round of 16 spot and depending on the result of Real Madrid away in Ukraine, even a draw may be enough to qualify already with a game to spare. Inter will arrive at Düsseldorf with Alitalia, while the return flight will depart from Cologne, where there are no night flying restrictions.

AZ9018 MXP 1645-1825 DUS A319 (30/11/20)

AZ9019 CGN 0120-0305 MXP A319 (02/12/20)

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Real Madrid

Real will be relieved after winning away against Inter in the previous round, but there is work to do yet. The team of Zinedine Zidane will travel to Ukraine with Iberia, though the exact type of aircraft is yet to be specified:

IB2800 MAD 0900-1405 KBP A359 (30/11/20)

IB2803 KBP xxxx-0305 MAD A359 (02/12/20)

FC Porto vs. Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is through to the round of 16 already. In a tight schedule it will be interesting to see whether City will pick a full squad for this away trip or whether they will leave the task to some keen reserve players. Guardiola's experience probably favours the first of those two options. City will travel to Porto with Titan Airways:

ZT7775 MAN 1500-1730 OPO A321 (30/11/20)

ZT7776 OPO 1500-1730 MAN A321 (02/12/20)

Olympique Marseille vs. Olympiacos Piraeus

The Greek visitors hold a slender advantage over Marseille, courtesy of a 1-0 win at home in October. Marseille for their part have not scored a single goal in this season's campaign and they are on a streak of 13 consecutive lost games in the Champions League. Ideally they would have to score at least two goals more than Olympiacos, who will arrive in Marseille with Aegean Airlines. But depending on how the last round will go, that may not even be enough to make it into the Europa League:

AEE4010 ATH xxxx-1210 MRS A320 (30/11/20)

AEE4011 MRS 1100-xxxx ATH A320 (02/12/20)

Liverpool FC vs. Ajax FC

A surprise loss at Anfield against Atalanta has thrown this group wide open. And with Liverpool's player availability at the moment, there seems to be no certainty at all for the match against Ajax. The Dutch team however have managed to beat Midtjylland 3-1 in the fourth round to remain in contention. They will travel to Liverpool with TUI:

OR7355 AMS 1400-1420 LPL B738 OO-JEF (30/11/20)

OR7356 LPL 1120-1350 AMS B738 OO-JEF (02/12/20)

Atlanta Bergamo vs. FC Midtjylland

The Danish champions are already out of the UEFA competitions and yet have two matches to play. Atalanta however have brought themselves seriously back into the running, with a good away win in Liverpool. Midtjylland are forced to travel from Billund instead of Karup again and will use The Great Dane Airlines to travel to Bergamo:

DW713 BLL xxxx-1150 BGY E195 OY-GDA (30/11/20)

DW714 BGY 1200-1400 BLL E195 OY-GDA (02/12/20)

Great Dane Airlines EMB-195 OY-GDA at Tenerife in December 2019

Real at San Siro and more - UEFA Champions League 25 November 2020

Titan Airways A321 at Tenerife Sur in December 2019

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Shakhtar Donezk

The German team had more than just a great game against an opponent that seemed badly hampered by many COVID-19 cases, as is the case with many Ukraine teams at the moment. 6-0 to Mönchengladbach was the scoreline in Kharkiv in October. It remains to be seen whether Shakhtar can turn the trend around in time. They will travel from Kyiv to Düsseldorf on a SkyUp Boeing 737-700, possibly the one in their own club colours.

PQ2503 KBP 0945-1125 DUS B737 (24/11/20)

Atlético Madrid vs. Lokomotiv Moscow

The "Rojiblancos" have not really taken off yet in this year's campaign and to draw the away game in Moscow was possibly not the best idea either. They will get the chance to make up for this slip-up when they play Lokomotiv at home, at the Wanda Metropolitano. Lok Moscow will arrive two days before the game on an Aeroflot Airbus A320:

SU7386 VKO 1600-1830 MAD B738 VP-BZB (23/11/20)

SU7387 MAD 1040-1710 VKO B738 (26/11/20)

Internazionale vs. Real Madrid

Real find themselves with the backs against the wall, after an uncharacteristic home loss against the badly COVID-19-struck Shakhtar Donezk. Traveling to the mighty San Siro will be a real test for a side that might even be without Sergio Ramos, who not only missed two penalties on national team duty, but also returned to the Real camp with an injury that he picked up in the epic 6-0 win over Germany. Real will travel to Italy with Iberia as usual:

IB2800 MAD xxxx-1240 MXP A320 (24/11/20)

IB2801 MXP 0030-xxxx MAD A320 (26/11/20)

Iberia oneworld Airbus A320 seen at Madrid in March 2020

Olympique Marseille vs. FC Porto

The home side has the distinction of not having scored a single goal so far in this edition of the Champions League. They will look to change this against a Porto side that could make a decisive step towards the round of 16. Porto will travel to the South of France with 2Excel Aviation:

BRO21P STN xxxx-1700 OPO B733 G-SWRD (23/11/20, ferry flt)

BRO21 OPO 1530-xxxx MRS B733 G-SWRD (24/11/20)

BRO21 MRS xxxx-0230 OPO B733 G-SWRD (26/11/20)

Liverpool FC vs. Atalanta Bergamo

Atalanta will travel to a Liverpool side that might soon have more points than players available, if Jürgen Klopp's statements in the media are anything to go by. Liverpool has won all three games so far and comes off a 3-0 win against Leicester City in the Premier League. Atalanta looks to be in a battle with Ajax over the second spot in this group.

ENT59KG OLB 1150-1230 BGY B738 SP-ESF (24/11/20, ferry flt)

ENT14ZY WAW 1400-1545 BGY B738 SP-ENO (24/11/20, ferry flt)

ENT531 BGY 1500-1550 LPL B738 SP-ENO (24/11/20)

ENT532 LPL 0930-xxxx BGY B738 SP-ENO (26/11/20)

It appears that the flight was initially meant to be done by SP-ESF that subsequently became unavailable. At short notice, SP-ENO was brought in from Warsaw, Enter Air's main base.

Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Manchester City

City are traveling out to Greece rather late, using a Titan Airways Airbus A321 to take them to Athens.

ZT7771 MAN 1500-2100 ATH A321 G-POWN (24/11/20)

ZT7772 ATH 0030-xxxx MAN A321 G-POWN (26/11/20)

Turks in Manchester, Sevilla off to the East - UEFA Champions League 24 November 2020

24 November 2020

Manchester United vs. Istanbul Basaksehir

For the first time ever, the lesser club from Istanbul, Basaksehir has made it to the Champions League. They have only three points in the bank so far, one could think. These came courtesy of a home win against none less than Manchester United however. Ole Gunnair Solskjaer's troops will be eager for revenge at Old Trafford. Basaksehir will arrive in Manchester with Turkish Airlines, using a Boeing 737-800 for their charter flight:

TK3233 IST 1200-1310 MAN B738 TC-JVE (23/11/20)

TK3234 MAN 1410-2110 IST B738 TC-JVE (23/11/20, ferry flt)

TK3233 IST 0950-1100 MAN B738 (25/11/20, ferry flt)

TK3234 MAN 1200-1900 IST B738 (25/11/20)

A Boeing 737-800 of Turkish Airlines, seen in Barcelona in June 2016

FK Krasnodar vs. Sevilla CF

Sevilla are heading to the East, looking to build on their strong position. They are currently in second place, on course for a spot in the Round of 16. To stay ahead of Krasnodar and Rennes behind them, even a draw would do just nicely. Sevilla will travel out to the early Tuesday fixture on Sunday afternoon already, using one of Privilege Style's Boeing 757-200s.

PVG1890 SVQ 1530-2245 KRR B752 (22/11/20)

Paris St-Germain vs. RB Leipzig

In the previous round, RB Leipzig came from behind and beat a very ill-disciplined PSG 2-1. The French hosts will look to bounce back from this disastrous effort out in Germany, while Leipzig could make big strides towards the round of 16 already. The visitors will arrive in Paris with Avanti Air:

ATV201H LEJ 1255-xxxx CDG F100 (23/11/20)

SS Lazio Roma vs. Zenit St. Petersburg

Lazio have had a good start to this European season, beating Borussia Dortmund and drawing the next two games against Brugge and Zenit. They will now need to win against a Zenit team that is desperate for points to at least be able to save themselves into the Europa League.

FV4101 LED xxxx-1300 FCO A319 (23/11/20)

Dynamo Kyiv vs. FC Barcelona

Barcelona are off to Kyiv to try and maintain their clean record in this season's Champions League so far. They have won all three games and if they win in Kyiv too, they will be qualified for the Round of 16 already. For once, Barcelona will travel with Privilege Style:

PVG7995 BCN 1500-1935 KBP B752 EC-HDS (23/11/20)

PVG7996 KBP xxxx-0430 BCN B752 EC-HDS (25/11/20)

Juventus vs. Ferencvaros Budapest

The Hungarian champions have only scored one point so far in the group stage. Their trip to Italy is not an easy one though, travelling to Juventus who are looking to make a big step forward towards the Round of 16. Ferencvaros will arrive in Torino with Wizz Air:

WZZ9001 BUD xxxx-1210 TRN A321 (23/11/20)

Rennes vs. Chelsea

BRO20P STN 1230 – 1300 FAB B733 GTCPG (23/11/20, ferry flt)

BRO20 FAB 1530 – 1615 RNS B733 GTCPG (23/11/20)

One-off in Budapest - UEFA Supercup 2020

 24 September 2020

Bayern München vs. Real Madrid (in Budapest)

Champions League winners Bayern München will arrive in Budapest with Lufthansa on a Lufthansa Airbus A319. They will not return to Munich however, but to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden. Their next away game will be at Sinsheim, against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Still, this seems slightly surprising, as Bayern are well known to have used widebody aircraft of Lufthansa for similar trips.

LH2570 MUC 1100-1210 BUD A319 (23/09/20)

LH2571 BUD 1530-1710 FKB A319 (25/09/20)

The Europa League winners as so often are Sevilla CF, arriving to Budapest with Privilege Style, also as so often:

PVG1890 SVQ 1400-xxxx BUD  (22/09/20)

August is the new March - UEFA Champions League 7 & 8 August 2020

There were four return leg matches that could not be played in March 2020 and were thus moved to August. At least all of those matches could be played at the respective home clubs' grounds, but of course without spectators.

7 August 2020

Manchester City vs. Real Madrid

Spanish giants Real may be the record winners of the Champions League, but without their captain Sergio Ramos they faced a difficult task away at Man City. Eastlands is hardly ever a busy place on Champions League nights, so the City players may have had an extra advantage. Real stuck to their usual travel arrangements, though using an A320 is rather rare for them, as bigger metal is usually called for in the knockout stage:

IB2850 MAD 1045-1145 MAN A320 EC-LUL (06/08/20)

IB2851 MAN 1300-1600 MAD A320 EC-LUL (06/08/20, ferry flt)

IB2850 MAD 2115-2245 MAN A20N EC-NCM (07/08/20, ferry flt)

IB2851 MAN 0130-0415 MAD A20N EC-NCM (08/08/20)

Iberia A320neo EC-NER at Madrid, March 2020

Juventus Turin vs. Olympique Lyonnais

With a 1-0 lead over Juventus, Lyon would have thought about good chances to make it to the quarterfinals. To lead 1-0 again after just 12 minutes though was almost beyond expectation, even if OL look like a team that could actually make it far in the unpredictable format that is coming up now. For their trip across from Lyon to Turin, they chose Amelia International and one of their EMB-145s:

AEH071 LYN 1100-1145 TRN E145 F-HRAM (06/08/20)

AEH072 TRN 0145-0230 LYS E145 F-HRAM (08/08/20)

8 August 2020

Bayern München vs. Chelsea

Chelsea faced an uphill task in Munich, having lost the first leg 3-0 already. They got comprehensively beaten in the empty Allianz Arena in Munich. For their trip they chose JOTA Aviation with one of their Avro RJs, in this case RJ100 G-JOTS:

ENZ114P SEN 1230-1300 FAB RJ1H G-JOTS (07/08/20, ferry flt)

ENZ114 FAB 1500-1800 MUC RJ1H G-JOTS (07/08/20)

ENZ115 MUC 0045-0130 LGW RJ1H G-JOTS (09/08/20)

ENZ115P LGW 0215-0245 SEN RJ1H G-JOTS (09/08/20, ferry flt)

2019-2020 UEFA Champions League Update

The Champions League will be back! At least so far there are plans confirmed by UEFA now that the final tournament for the current season is to take place in Lisbon from 12 August to 23 August. The stadiums of SL Benfica and Sporting will host the eight remaining teams in the competition. Four round of 16 return leg matches are yet to be played as well and might get hosted in Portugal as well. The stadiums of FC Porto and Vitoria Guimarães are on standby for this.

TAP Air Portugal Airbus A321neo CS-TJI seen at Lisbon in February 2019

All these matches will happen behind closed doors. This will probably mean that there is not much to see for the enthusiasts around Lisbon Airport. At least there will be eight teams arriving in Lisbon for these games, so some charter traffic can be expected.

Information about who will travel to Lisbon with which plane(s) will be posted as soon as it is available. For the time being however, it is not even clear who will play against who. As a quick reminder, these are the teams still in contention for this season's UEFA Champions League title:

• Atalanta Bergamo
• RB Leipzig
• Atlético Madrid
• Paris St-Germain
• Juventus Turin or Olympique Lyonnais
• Manchester City or Real Madrid
• Bayern München or Chelsea
• FC Barcelona or SSC Napoli

Champions League Charters - Who is travelling?

The current season of the Champions League is interrupted because of COVID-19. But there are many aspects around the travel arrangements for the teams in the competition to look into while we wait for a new date for the Champions League final that was meant to be held in Istanbul this weekend. Apparently Lisbon is in the starting blocks for an end to the season in a shortened format, but UEFA is yet to communicate a possible new schedule and more details. At least many leagues are now picking up their trade again. After the German Bundesliga, also the leagues in Switzerland, Austria, England, Spain and Italy have communicated their restart dates.

We have learnt about the structure of the competition in the previous post. But what happens in each match week? We leave the tactical and technical aspects aside and go straight back into the logistics. There is one major point from UEFA there, which is that teams are obliged to travel to their destinations on the day before a game takes place at the latest. Some teams tend to arrive early, while others decide to train on their own facilities in the morning and then to travel to the opposition’s city without holding a training session there. Still, there are media obligations to fulfil, which means that an arrival after 18.00h on the day before match day is basically off limits.

Shakhtar Donezk arrived in Basel one day ahead of their match against FC Basel that took place on 16 September 2008. Their fans followed on the match day.

Now to think that there are just eleven players plus a few extra people travelling would be inaccurate. On a match sheet, each club can have 18 players. There are coaches, physios, other backroom staff and of course the chairmen of the clubs travelling as well. And there are more stakeholders in a club, such as sponsors, partners and the local media. For most Champions League trips these days, there is enough personnel travelling to warrant an Airbus A320 or a decent-sized Boeing 737. Add to this the Under-19 youth team that will play in a shadow version of the Champions League, the UEFA Youth League. Two complete football teams with their backroom staff and other people have been at the source of many away day with more than one aircraft involved already.

Then there are the fans. They want to see their heroes doing well abroad as well. Some might want to see other cities and take some time for this, so they would travel on scheduled flights and not necessarily on direct flights. Most clubs are in a close relationship with a travel agency though and are thus able to organize fan charters for supporters. The odd club might still offer travelling with the team on the same plane. These opportunities have become rare however – and they come at some price.

Generally, the number of charter flights increases with the importance of the game for the club. Teams who were on the brink of qualifying for the group stage for the first time have been known for good efforts at getting their supporters on the move. Unfortunately for Salzburg in 2014 and Hoffenheim in 2017, such efforts can just as well end in bitter disappointment. Or in the Europa League for that matter.

As the competition reaches its highest spheres in spring, the number of travelling supporters usually increases. Depending on the teams involved, semifinal matches can easily attract a handful of charter planes or more. Some teams are known to the enthusiasts to bring out the best in terms of charter aircraft. Plus there are some dark horses which we will be looking at in detail as well in the future.

Another detail for a separate post is the final. It is the biggest annual one-day sporting event, straight after the Super Bowl. Therefore UEFA has its own logistics task force and a very complex concept for the logistics not only on the Final day itself. Supporters of the teams involved should be kept separate from each other, which is not easy if there are 20’000 or more of each team present. The increased media interest also means that there are usually charter flights for journalists travelling to Champions League finals. Even if no team from either country is involved in a final, there would usually be flights from Spain and/or Italy to the respective final city.

The 2015 Champions League final was played in Berlin, by FC Barcelona and Juventus Turin. But this Atlantic Airways Airbus A319 brought in guests from London.

Champions League football is a far cry from grassroots sport, where eleven friends would take a long train trip somewhere. These days, travelling for a Champions League club almost means taking the entire club away somewhere. Around 20 players, equal numbers of backroom staff, the higher representatives, the Youth League team, some media and sponsor people – these planes fill up quickly these days. And this is still before we have even thought about the fans.

The next post will be about the geography of the Champions League.