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)