Why the Greeks travel on Sunday already - UEFA Champions League Qualifiers R3 first leg

6 August 2024

Malmö FF vs. PAOK Saloniki

It is some way from Greece to Sweden. And PAOK Saloniki will want to be best prepared for the clash against the Swedish champions from Malmö. While PAOK won both games against Bosnian champions Borac Banja Luka, Malmö FF had a slip-up in their away game on the Faroe Islands against KI Klaksvik. The bookies have Malmö as favourites, although a draw or even an away win for PAOK can not be ruled out at all. PAOK traveled early, on Sunday, using an Aegean Airlines Airbus A320.

AEE6190 ATH 1615-1705 SKG A320 SX-DVS (04/08/24, ferry flight)

AEE4190 SKG 1800-1935 MMX A320 SX-DVS (04/08/24)

AEE6191 MMX 2045-0030(+1) ATH A320 SX-DVS (04/08/24, ferry flight)

AEE4191 MMX 2330-xxxx(+1) SKG A320 (06/08/24)

FK Qarabag Agdam vs. Ludogorets Razgrad

Another team to travel quite far is Ludogorets Razgrad. The champions from Bulgaria will meet their counterpart from Azerbaijan in Baku and as you might know, Qarabag are far from easy to beat at all. For the long trip to the East, Ludogorets will use an Embraer EMB-145 of Amelia Aviation which will get pushed to its range limits on this trip. The plane made its way from St-Brieuc in France to Varna on Sunday evening already.

AIA261F SBK 1530-2050 VAR E145 F-HGYM (04/08/24, ferry flight)

AIA261 VAR 0930-1255 GYD E145 F-HGYM (05/08/24)

AIA262 GYD xxxx-0235 VAR E145 F-HGYM (07/07/24)

Sparta Prague vs. FCSB

It is not very far from Bucharest to Prague and vice-versa. And FCSB even uses a Czech company for its travels to Prague for the first leg in this tie. Having overcome Maccabi Tel Aviv in the previous round, FCSB will need to be on top of their game to beat the Czech champions. Sparta had it quite a bit easier in their tie against Shamrock Rovers from Ireland, recording two clear wins away and at home in Prague. 

QS430P PRG 0600-0855 OTP B737 OK-SWW (05/08/24, ferry flight)

QS4309 OTP 1000-1055 PRG B737 OK-SWW (05/08/24)

QS4310 PRG 0050-xxxx OTP B737 (07/08/24)

FC Midtjylland vs. Ferencvaros

Both teams in this tie had easy opposition in the second round. Ferencvaros scored seven goals over two legs against New Saints from Wales while Midtjylland came up with four scores against Andorra's finest Santa Coloma. A German Airways Embraer EMB-190 will be the transport for Hungarian champions Ferencvaros from Budapest to Karup.

ZQ1899 BUD 1100-1300 KRP E190 D-AMWO (05/08/24)

Dynamo Kyiv vs. Glasgow Rangers

In the league path, Rangers will travel to Poland, where Dynamo Kyiv still have their playing home base this season. Rangers enter the competition in this round while Dynamo had two big wins over Partizan Belgrade in the previous round already. A Boeing 737-700 in special configuration operated by 2Excel Aviation will be at Rangers' disposal for the flight to Lublin.

BRO976A GLA 1500-1830 LUZ B737 G-NEWG (05/08/24)

BRO976B LUZ 2355-0135(+1) GLA B737 G-NEWG (06/08/24)

Lille OSC vs. Fenerbahçe Istanbul

It is a flight with Turkish Airlines from Sabiha Gökçen to Lille for Fenerbahçe. The game will take place in Valenciennes due to the Paris 2024 Olympics that also take place in Lille's Stade Pierre Mauroy. For the trip, a Boeing 737-800 will be ferried from Istanbul International on the European side of Istanbul across the Bosporus to Sabiha Gökçen on the Asian side.

TK3306 IST 1200-1230 SAW B738 TC-JHO (05/08/24, ferry flight)

TK3307 SAW 1355-1625 LIL B738 TC-JHO (05/08/24) 

FC Salzburg vs. Twente Enschede

Another league path tie sees Salzburg facing Twente from the Netherlands. Both sides join the competition at this stage, although the Austrian runners-up are probably favourites for the berth in the play-offs. Twente will board a CRJ-900 of Global Reach Aviation at Enschede that will take them to Salzburg in just over an hour's flight time.

GAV312 BLL 0845-0945 ENS CRJ OY-MIT (05/08/24, ferry flt)

GAV312 ENS 1100-1215 SZG CRJ9 OY-MIT (05/08/24)

GAV312 SZG 1400-1515 FMO CRJ OY-MIT (07/08/24)

CRJ-900 OY-MIT of Global Reach Aviation

seen at Helsinki-Vantaa in July 2024

7 August 2024

Jagiellonia Bialystok vs. Bodø/Glimt

Once again Bodø/Glimt are representing Norway in the UCL qualifiers. For their third round tie, they will have to travel away to Poland, first to Modlin and then on land to Bialystok. As is quite usual for the Norwegian team, they will use a rather small aircraft in Embraer EMB-145 PH-DWA of Air Charters Europe.

AGR1007 BOO 1500-1745 WMI E145 PH-DWA (05/08/24)

AGR7 WMI 1845-2055 ANR E145 PH-DWA (05/08/24, ferry flight)

Slavia Prague vs. Union St-Gilloise

For only the second time in their history, USG have qualified for the UEFA Champions League. The 3rd round qualifier will initially take them to Prague where they will face Slavia at Fortuna Arena. Brussels Airlines will be responsible for the flight, using one of their Airbus A319 aircraft.

SN1175 BRU 1410-1540 PRG A319 OO-SSS (06/08/24)

SN1176 PRG 2350-0120(+1) BRU A319 OO-SSF (07/08/24)

Slovan Bratislava vs. APOEL Nicosia

The champions from Cyprus and Slovakia will continue their quest for Champions League tickets of the group stage variety. APOEL comes off a tight encounter with Petrocub from Moldova, while Slovan had it easier against Slovenian champions Celje in the second leg at least. For their trip West, APOEL will use an Airbus A321 of Fly One from Romania.

OE4018 LCA 1000-1220 BTS A321 (06/08/24)

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)

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)

Insight into the Champions League Qualifiers R1 travel - 9-10 July 2019

9 July 2019

Qualifying proper for the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League will get underway on Tuesday, with some teams having to travel a long way for their first round ties:

Süduva Mariampole vs. Red Star Belgrade

EUP421 BEG 1000-xxxx KUN E145 F-HBPE (08/07/19)

JU9060 BEG 1025-xxxx KUN (08/07/19)

Ararat-Armenia vs. AIK Stockholm

MLT723 ARN 1100-xxxx EVN B735 (08/07/19)

FC Astana vs. CFR Cluj

AXY0717 OTP 1445-2230 TSE B735 9H-YES (07/07/19)

Sarajevo vs. Celtic Glasgow

ENZ593 GLA xxxx-1905 SJJ BA46 (08/07/19)

ENZ594 SJJ 0000-xxxx GLA BA46 (10/07/19)

10 July 2019

Ferencvaros Budapest vs. Ludogorets Razgrad

BUC1945 VAR 1100-xxxx BUD (09/07/19)

BUC1946 BUD xxxx-0255 VAR (11/07/19)

Slovan Bratislava vs. Sutjeska Niksic

YM2252 TIV xxxx-1340 BTS E190 (09/07/19)

Valur vs. NK Maribor

KLJ1125 MBX 1000-xxxx KEF B735 (09/07/19)

KLJ1126 KEF xxxx-1720 MBX B735 (11/07/19)