One more step until the league phase - UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round return leg 27/28 August 2024

The UEFA Champions League qualifiers are going down the final straight and seven teams will join the 29 clubs that are already in the main draw for the league phase. While some of the ties have already gone quite clearly in one team's direction, some others are still wide open after the first leg matches on 20 and 21 August. The games on 27 and 28 August will provide some prime action and surely some interesting charter flights too.

27 August 2024

Sparta Prague vs. Malmö FF 

21.00h, Stadion Letna, Prague

(first leg 2-0)

The Czech champions Sparta will take a handy lead into their home game against the Swedish champions. They could qualify for the main event for the first time in 19 years as long as they will not lose by more than one goal. Malmö travel in rather discrete style, using a Saab 2000 of Frost Air for the trip to Prague.

FRO040 MMX 1100-1225 PRG SB20 OY-FSC (26/08/24)

FRO041 PRG 1200-xxxx MMX SB20 (28/08/24)

FC Salzburg vs. Dynamo Kyiv

21.00h, Red Bull Arena, Salzburg

(first leg 2-0)

Once again, Dynamo Kyiv will arrive from their exile in Poland for the away game in Salzburg. Interestingly, there were two flights planned for this trip, one on what is supposed to be FlyOne's sole Boeing 737-800 UR-PSF and the other one on an Enter Air Boeing 737-800. Equally interesting is the return trip to Kishinev. On the sports side, Salzburg will start with a two-goal lead in the tie - enough to take them to the Champions League league phase?

ENT588 LUZ xxxx-1510 SZG B738 (25/08/24)

ENT589P SZG 1600-xxxx GRX B738 (25/08/24, ferry flight)

7W7737 LUZ 1835-2015 SZG B738 UR-PSF (25/08/24)

7W7738 SZG 2100-xxxx RMO B738 UR-PSF (25/08/24, ferry flight)

7W7737 RMO xxxx-0910 SZG B738 (28/08/24, ferry flight)

ENT589P POZ xxxx-0930 SZG B738 (28/08/24, ferry flight)

7W7738 SZG 1010-xxxx RMO B738 (28/08/24)

ENT590 SZG 1030-xxxx RMO B738 (28/08/24)

Galatasaray Istanbul vs. BSC Young Boys

21.00h CET (22.00h local time), Rams Park ("Ali Sami Yen"), Istanbul

(first leg 2-3)

The first leg of this champions path tie was an up and down for both side. Joel Monteiro scored two goals in the first half for YB. Michi Batshuayi followed this up by two goals as a substitute in the second half. The Swiss champions then took a late lead from a Filip Ugrinic penalty. Interestingly for this long trip, Young Boys are using a propeller plane in Avanti Air's Dash 8-Q400.

ATV025H GRZ 1740-1905 BRN DH8D D-AASH (25/08/24, ferry flight)

ATV261H BRN 0900-1340 IST DH8D D-AASH (26/08/24)

D-AASH, Avanti Air Dash 8-Q400, seen at London-Gatwick in May 2024

28 August 2024

Red Star Belgrade vs. Bodø/Glimt

21.00h, Rajko Mitic Stadium ("Marakana"), Belgrade

(first leg 1-2)

After some exciting ventures in UEFA's other two club competitions, Bodø/Glimt are on the verge of making Norwegian football history. They could be the next club from this Nordic country to qualify for the main event in the UEFA Champions League if they manage to defend their 2-1 lead successfully in Belgrade. The team will travel South one day earlier than usual, flying out with Global Reach Aviation and their CRJ-900 OY-MIT.

GAV325 BOO 1500-xxxx BEG CRJ9 OY-MIT (26/08/24)

GAV325 BEG xxxx-1840 BOO CRJ9 OY-MIT (29/08/24)

Slavia Prague vs. Lille OSC

21.00h, Eden Arena, Prague

(first leg 0-2)

In a league path clash, LOSC beat Slavia Prague 2-0 in the first leg. This lead should come in handy for the return leg. But with no away goals rule these days, even two goals' deficit are not that much to overcome actually. So, Slavia are still in with a chance - and they play at home in the second leg. LOSC's charter flight shows up with an AirExplore flight number, but should actually be operated by KlasJet and one of their Boeing 737-500 aircraft.

AXE8131 LIL xxxx-1815 PRG B735 LY-KLT (27/08/24)

AXE8132 PRG 0000-xxxx LIL B735 LY-KLT (29/08/24)

Qarabag Agdam vs. Dinamo Zagreb

18.45h CET (20.45h local time), Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku

(first leg 0-3)

Three goals up from the first leg, Dinamo Zagreb have a healthy lead to defend in Azerbaijan against Qarabag. The journey down there is a long one though and the Croatian champions depart one day early, on Monday with Croatia Airlines to Baku.

OU9520 ZAG 1410-2005 GYD A319 9A-CTG (26/08/24)

OU9521 GYD 2055-2255 ZAG A319 9A-CTG (26/08/24, ferry flight)

Slovan Bratislava vs. FC Midtjylland

21.00h, Narodny Futbalovy Stadion, Bratislava

(first leg 1-1)

90 or even 120 minutes await these two teams who are tied at one goal apiece after the first leg. The champions of Denmark can count on some supporters who will even fly down to Slovakia on a charter flight on the match day itself - rather unusual for a qualifier game.

ZQ1999 BLL 1225-1420 BTS E190 (27/08/24)

AP1235 BLL 1020-1215 BTS B738 (28/08/24)

Play-off round in sight - UEFA Champions League Qualifiers R3 14 August 2024

13 August 2024

The UEFA Super Cup on 14 August means that all Champions League qualifiers will take place on 13 August this week. With a maximum of two goals between sides, the majority of the draws is still wide open. In Ludogorets Razgrad and Bodø/Glimt, two sides have a first-leg advantage to defend at home. On the other end of the scale, APOEL Nicosia, Ferencvaros Budapest and Union Saint-Gilloise will have to fight back from two goals down at home. All the winning teams will advance to the play-off round while the losers from the champions' path go into the UEFA Europa League play-off phase. The losers from the league path will directly be admitted to the UEFA Europa League league phase.

Ludogorets Razgrad vs. FK Qarabag Agdam

In a clash between two teams with Champions League experience, Ludogorets managed to get a slim lead away in Azerbaijan. They will look to defend this lead against the only side from Azerbaijan ever to get a Champions League group stage ticket.

AHY4001 GYD 1630-1830 VAR A319 4K-AZ05 (12/08/24)

AYH4002 VAR 1930-2300 GYD A319 4K-AZ05 (12/08/24, ferry flight)

AHY4002 VAR 0130-xxxx GYD (14/08/24)

Bodø/Glimt vs. Jagiellonia Bialystok

Neither of these two sides have ever made it to the group stage of Europe's premier club football competition. With an away win in the pocket, Bodø/Glimt are surely looking forward to sealing a spot in the next round. For their trip up North to Bodø, Jagiellonia Bialystok count on LOT Polish Airlines.

LO7299 WAW 0940-1225 BOO E195 SP-LNL (12/08/24)

LO7300 BOO 1315-1545 WAW E195 SP-LNL (12/08/24, ferry flight)

LO7300 BOO 1325-xxxx WAW E195 (14/08/24)

FCSB vs. Sparta Prague

A rather unusual travel arrangement for the Czech champions, with Turkish Airlines taking them from Prague to Bucharest. For the return flight however, they will be able to count on their home carrier Smartwings and one of their Boeing 737-800 aircraft. 

TK3281 PRG 1200-1440 OTP A321 TC-JRM (12/08/24)

QS4313 OTP xxxx-1515 PRG B738 (14/08/24)

Union St-Gilloise vs. Slavia Prague

Taking two goals' advantage into the return leg, Slavia Prague travel on Sunday evening already. In this league phase tie, the loser will at least be playing in the UEFA Europa League in the next few months. This means less pressure on the teams. A win could definitely be seen as a massive bonus though.

QS4374 PRG 1825-2015 BRU B737 OK-SWW (11/08/24)

Twente Enschede vs. FC Salzburg

For the first time in some years, the Red Bull club from Salzburg is not playing as a league champion, but as the Austrian league's runner-up. They led 2-0 at home in the first leg against Twente, but then conceded a late goal that just about keeps the Dutch runners-up in the tie. Salzburg will fly directly to the former airbase of Enschede, using one of the two Avanti Air Dash 8-400 turboprops.

ATV012H GRZ 1240-1330 SZG DH8D (12/08/24, ferry flt)

ATV121H SZG 1500-1645 ENS DH8D (12/08/24)

ATV141H ENS xxxx-1535 SZG DH8D (14/08/24)

ATV041H SZG 1630-xxxx GRZ DH8D (14/08/24, ferry flt)

Avanti Air Dash 8-Q400 D-AASH

arriving at London-Gatwick in May 2024

APOEL Nicosia vs. Slovan Bratislava

A KlasJet Boeing 737-500 will fly under an AirExplore flight number from Bratislava to Larnaca with the Slovak national champions on board. Slovan Bratislava will look to consolidate or at least defend the 2-0 lead from the first leg. The winner from this tie will face the winner of the tie between Ferencvaros and Midtjylland in the play-off round. All in all, this seems to be a rather easy way to the main round of the UEFA Champions League. But all matches have to be played and won of course.

ED8103 BTS 1330-1720 LCA B735 LY-FLT (12/08/24)

PAOK Saloniki vs. Malmö FF

In rather discrete manner, Malmö FF will travel to their away assignment in Greece. Just an Embraer EMB-145 is enough for them to fly to Thessaloniki. In this tie, everything seems wide open after Malmö FF twice took the lead and PAOK twice equalised in the first leg for a 2-2 draw.

TLJ818M LBG 0645-0830 MMX E145 F-HFKF (12/08/24, ferry flt)
TLJ818M MMX 1000-1350 SKG E145 F-HFKF (12/08/24)

Fenerbahçe Istanbul vs. Lille OSC

In the league path, Lille have a tricky trip ahead to Sükru Saracoglu, traditionally a difficult venue for away teams. At least LOSC will have one goal's advantage to defend against the Turkish runners-up. Boeing 737-500 LY-KDT is another well-known feature on the football charter circuit.

KLJ2094 LPA 0730-1220 LIL B735 LY-KDT (12/08/24, ferry flt)
KLJ2101 LIL 1415-1840 IST B735 LY-KDT (12/08/24)

Glasgow Rangers vs. Dynamo Kyiv

As has been the case in the past couple of years, Dynamo Kyiv have set up camp in Poland. They will arrive in Glasgow directly from Lublin with Comlux Aviation Malta and their Boeing 737-500, a rare feature these days with its retro-fitted winglets. The winners of this clash will face the winners of the tie between Salzburg and Twente Enschede.

MLM712 NCE 0600-0805 LUZ B735 9H-MAC (12/08/24, ferry flt)
MLM712 LUZ 1000-1155 GLA B735 9H-MAC (12/08/24)

Ferencvaros vs. Midtjylland

One of two teams to travel by turboprop aircraft in this round, Midtjylland take a 2-0 lead with them to Budapest. Frost Air provides a Saab 2000 for this trip. 

FRO084 BLL 1210-1415 BUD SB20 OY-FSB (12/08/24)

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)

Champions League Charters - what it is all about

What it is all about

Let’s start with some good news: Football is slowly starting again after COVID-19, with major leagues like the Bundesliga coming back to the action and most probably the Spanish La Liga and Italy’s Serie A to follow. On the other hand, we still have not got an idea about the European competitions. The 2020 Champions League Final should have been played in Istanbul on 30 May 2020, but will not take place so soon. Hopefully UEFA will come up with some ideas fairly soon.

This of course gives us time to look at some basics about charter flights for the Champions League, which are in parts the same as for the Europa League of course. Part of the framework is given by UEFA and then there is the geography of Europe (plus neighboring parts of Asia, like Kazakhstan, Israel) plus the clubs’ demands. On the opposite side we have the airlines who may or may not have specific aircraft available for these jobs. All of this leads to an interesting mix of air operations that we get to see every two to three weeks usually.

Swiftair once operated this MD-83 on behalf of Real Madrid. The plane was seen in Madrid in December 2007, although at a time when the contract had already been terminated again. It had some operational limitations that did not please the players very much.

Over several postings I would like to spread some insights and observations, but also thoughts and of course the odd picture taken over the years. After all I have been lucky to welcome many Champions League charter flights myself when teams came to visit FC Basel at St. Jakob Park. I have also visited the airports of Munich and Berlin for the 2012 and 2015 Champions League Finals, which both yielded a good mix of passenger aircraft and numerous private jets. Now I want to take things back to the basics, so let us have a look at what is the Champions League and what its calendar looks like these days.

A plain normal Lufthansa Airbus A321? No, FC Bayern München arriving in Basel for a Champions League game in September 2010.

The basic idea of the Champions League is to create a football competition for all the national champions across Europe. From the 55 national associations that are part of UEFA, 54 usually enter their national champions. The exception is Liechtenstein, where FC Vaduz plays in the Swiss league system (as do the other clubs, but Vaduz are miles better than everyone else). Another 25 clubs take part in the competition as runners-up and 3^rdor 4^thplaced teams in their respective championships. This adds up to 79 regular berths, but only 32 clubs make it to the actual final competition. This is why there are no less than five qualifying rounds.

Qualifying starts towards the end of June, barely four weeks or so after the previous final (in “normal” years of course). The champions of the four bottom-ranked associations battle it out in two K.O. rounds for one spot in the first qualifying round. Three qualifying rounds with two-legged ties follow until the early crescendo that is the play-off round. Throughout the entire qualifying period, matches are played every week in July and August. Depending on your local team and its chances to qualify for anything in European football, this may already be the time to make hay.

Windrose Aviation sent this Airbus A320 for the Dynamo Kyiv team and staff to Basel-Mulhouse for the 2016-17 Champions League qualifiers. Dynamo played in Berne against BSC Young Boys, then runners-up of the Swiss Super League.

From September to December, the 32 qualified teams play six rounds of group stage games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Usually matches are held every two or three weeks. A gap of three weeks will normally be used for national team matches. Each team will have travelled three times at least by December. The planning safety of the group stage quite often means that travel arrangements are know well in advance. Also, scheduling measures are taken to avoid supporters’ clashes and congestion on airports.

From February of the following calendar year, the knock-out stages take place. In the round of 16, the group winners face second-placed teams from other groups. The third-placed teams play in the Europa League round of 32. The Champions League round of 16 is usually held across four weeks, two weeks each for the first and second legs, with an extra week in between. As you may have guessed, there is no practical reason to this, but just commercial reasons. The quarterfinals are held in successive weeks in April, while the semifinals usually happen towards the end of April and in early May.

The Champions League Final usually takes place in the second half of May, depending on the year. In odd years, there is more flexibility due to no national team competition that follows in June. Therefore a final in odd years can also be held in early June. In straight years, finals tend to be held as early as in the third week of May to comply with the compulsory stand-down rules for the national team players.

Busy times in Munich during the airlift for the 2012 Champions League final. Chelsea FC supporters arrived with many large planes, for exampe this Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-600 or the Thomas Cook Scandinavia Airbus A330-300 in the background.

In its initial calendar draft for the 2020-2021 season, UEFA has outlined 46 days on which matches should be played. Whenever possible, matches are spread across Tuesday and Wednesday, even in the qualifying rounds. Unforeseen circumstances could even add more days to the calendar. For comparison, the first European Cup season in 1955-1956 featured 16 teams as opposed to the current 79. The scheduling back in the day led to 23 days with matches though, with one game even played on Christmas Day.

The maximum number of matches a team could play is 23, though it is highly unlikely that this will ever be reached. In the 2018-2019 season, Ajax played 18 games and only missed out on their 19^thwhich would have been the final by a Tottenham goal deep into injury time. Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade also had a long season, playing 14 games from the first qualifying round until the final group stage round. Finalists Tottenham and Liverpool played 13 games each. Across both European competitions, SL Benfica played 16 games.

So much for the scheduling basics of the Champions League. There are some more details to it, but these may feature in a later post. The next post will be about who is traveling to a game – and how.

The charter flight that never was

Champions League qualifiers are a hectic phase in the European club football calendar these days. Clubs play their first, second and third rounds on successive mid-week match days and there is hardly any time to recover, take a deep breath and prepare properly. Rolling planning is the call and every now and then, a nicely set-up plan just has to be ditched because while the backroom staff has probably done the right thing, the guys on the pitch just have not scored enough goals.

Going into this week's qualifiers, Dynamo Kyiv was facing the choice between FC Basel and LASK Linz for the opposition in the play-off for a Champions League group stage ticket. Plans were set up how to get to Basel next week, using a Windrose Airbus A320 or A321. Now, the way things panned out in Linz, the Austrian vice-champions won the tie against their Swiss counterparts. Surely, Dynamo Kyiv would have had a plan as to how to travel to Austria as well. But in the end, they will not have to. Kyiv lost their tie to FC Brugge as well, so they will have to make do with a spot in the Europa League.

7W7771 KBP xxxx-1230 BSL A320/A321 (19/08/19)
7W7772 BSL 0100-xxxx KBP A320/A321 (21/08/19)

Windrose Air A321s have made it to Basel in the past, operating for Dynamo Kyiv as well such as in 2017

These teams will make the Champions League play-off - or not

No acitivity on here does not mean that teams would not be flying around for their Champions League qualifiers at the moment. It rather means that your author is short on time to compile the information. After all, the occasional look onto the flight radar reveals all sorts of activity, particularly if like me, you live in the heart of Europe, where all the airways cross. So here we go with the return legs of the Third Round of this season's Champions League:

13 August 2019

LASK Linz vs. FC Basel 1893

Basel spent 90 minutes chasing the game against the Austrian vice-champions from Linz last week, with the end result being a 1-2 home loss. Two away goals are required now to still make it to the play-off, though the Europa League will wait as a parachute option for the losing team. Helvetic Airways appears to be the carrier of choice at the moment, with Basel having travelled to Eindhoven already with the same carrier a few weeks ago:

2L1336 ZRH 0830-0900 BSL E190 HB-JVT (12/08/19, ferry flt)

2L8336 BSL 1015-1115 LNZ E190 HB-JVT (12/08/19)

2L1337 LNZ 1200-1300 ZRH E190 HB-JVT (12/08/19, ferry flt)

2L1338 ZRH 1155-1300 LNZ E190 HB-JVT (14/08/19, ferry flt)

2L8339 LNZ 1400-1520 BSL E190 HB-JVT (14/08/19)

2L1339 BSL 1620-1700 ZRH E190 HB-JVT (14/08/19, ferry flt)

Dynamo Kyiv vs. FC Brugge

In another clash on the League Route, FC Brugge is taking a slender lead from a 1-0 home victory over Dynamo Kyiv over the Ukraine. The club opted for Brussels Airlines for this journey and ended up on board the Airbus A319 in Star Alliance colours:

SN9933 BRU 0800-0845 OST A319 OO-SSC (12/08/19, ferry flt)

SN1037 OST 1000-1330 KBP A319 OO-SSC (12/08/19)

SN9934 KBP 1445-1650 BRU A319 OO-SSC (12/08/19, ferry flt)

FC Porto vs. FK Krasnodar

The Russian outfit are the clear outsiders in the duel against the great FC Porto. Porto has won the first leg away from home 1-0 and will look to book a spot in the play-off tonight. Krasnodar on the other hand has booked flights with Rossiya, which seems to use Airbus A319 VQ-BCP for pretty much every sports task on hand:

FV4307 LED 0800-1030 KRR A319 VQ-BCP (12/08/19, ferry flt)

FV4308 KRR 1315-1700 OPO A319 VQ-BCP (12/08/19)

FC Kopenhagen vs. Red Star Belgrade

The winners of this clash will face the Swiss champions BSC Young Boys in the playoff round next week. The first match was played at Belgrade's fearsome Marakana ground and ended 1-1, leaving the champions of Denmark in a slightly better position.

KRP4041 ARW 0900-0845 BEG F100 YR-FKB (12/08/19, ferry flt)

KRP3041 BEG 1000-1215 CPH F100 YR-FKB (12/08/19)

JU9060 BEG 1315-1530 CPH B733 YU-AND (12/08/19)

JU9061 CPH 1630-xxxx KUN B733 YU-AND (12/08/19, ferry flt)