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)

Rugby Champions Cup, 18-19 January 2020

18 January 2020

Lyon OU vs. Northampton Saints

The Saints have traveled to France with a chance to still make the quarterfinals as one of the three best second-placed teams in the competition. They will have to beat LOU with a try bonus point to stand a chance however.

ENZ751 BHX 1000-1250 LYS RJ1H G-JOTS (17/01/20)

ENZ992P LYS 1350-1530 BTS RJ1H G-JOTS (17/01/20, ferry flt)

ENZ752 LYS 2030-xxxx BHX BA46 (18/02/20)

Benetton Rugby vs. Leinster Rugby

Already qualified for the quarterfinals with just one bonus point gone beckoning, Leinster have traveled to Italy to face a familiar opponent in Benetton. Their flight took them to Venice however.

EI4424 DUB 1005-1345 VCE A320 EI-GAL (17/01/20)

EI4425 VCE 2000-2140 DUB A320 EI-GAL

Harlequins vs. ASM Clermont-Auvergne

The French runners-up of last season's domestic championship have assured their progress to the quarterfinals already, though they could yet fall back in the pecking order behind Ulster. A win at the Stoop near Twickenham (near Heathrow coincidentally too) would assure Clermont the group win and a better seeding position.

EUP421 CFE 1430-xxxx FAB E145 F-HBPE (17/01/20)

EUP421 FAB xxxx-xxxx CFE E145 F-HBPE (18/01/20)

Rugby Champions Cup, 10-12 January 2020

Rugby Champions Cup

The rugby equivalent of the Champions League is back upon us with round 5 of the group stages and no doubt some more teams that will qualify for the quarter finals now. Leinster already booked their place in the knock-out stages in round 4 and Exeter Chiefs, Racing 92 as well as Stade Toulousain could follow them this weekend.

10 January 2020

Atlantique Stade Rochelais vs. Sale Sharks

The English team has arrived in La Rochelle on Thursday afternoon using a Jet2 Boeing 737-800 that seems to know its way around rugby grounds. The very same G-JZHB had been used for another rugby charter in December already, taking Bath Rugby to ASM Clermont Auvergne.

LS6962 MAN 1130-1400 LRH B738 G-JZHB (09/01/20)

LS6963 LRH xxxx-1150 MAN B738 G-JZHB (11/01/20)

11 January 2020

ASM Clermont-Auvergne vs. Ulster

A clash of European heavy weights awaits the fierce crowd at the Stade Marcel-Michelin, with Ulster visiting the volcanic Auvergne from Ravenhill. Both sides are well clear of Harlequins and Bath, which means that both could actually qualify for the quarterfinals. Ulster is another team using Jet2 for their international travel this season.

LS6029 BFS 1345-1700 CFE G-JZHO(10/01/20)

LS6030 CFE 1800-xxxx BFS G-JZHO (11/01/20)

Glasgow Warriors vs. Exeter Chiefs

The English vice-champions are traveling up North to face Glasgow Warriors that is quite possibly looking at an early exit from the competition with just two wins from four matches so far and just the one bonus point on the table.

BE8001 EXT 1335-xxxx GLA (10/01/20)

Connacht vs. Stade Toulousain

The French record champions have finally found their stride this season domestically as well, despite a couple of rather surprising trip-ups against Toulon and Stade Français just recently. They will try to make sure to qualify for the quarterfinals with a win at the Sportsground in Galway, a ground that has become more difficult to travel to in recent years, with the nearby Galway airport no longer in use. Toulouse thus traveled on Thursday afternoon already, quite unusual for a Saturday game.

JQ5369 TLS 1400-1630 SNN B738 EC-NAB (09/01/20)

JQ5370 SNN xxxx-2335 TLS B738 EC-NAB (11/01/20)

Gloucester Rugby vs. Montpellier-Hérault Rugby

9V52AN MPL 1130-1400 BRS (10/01/20)

12 January 2020

Leinster Rugby vs. Lyon OU

FPO865 LYS 1330-1435 DUB B737 (11/01/20)

FPO866 DUB 1830-2130 LYS B737 (12/01/20)

Racing 92 vs. Munster

Munster is using a rather big plane for the trip from Shannon to Paris. Not sure how often a rugby team would use a Boeing 757 for a group stage game, but then again, sometimes Munster is just different.

LS6021 SNN 1040-1315 CDG B752 (11/01/20)

LS6022 CDG 2200-2235 SNN B752 (12/01/20)

Heineken Champions Cup Final, 11 May 2019

Atlantique Stade Rochelais vs. ASM Clermont Auvergne

Two teams playing a great brand of rugby have set the European Challenge Cup on fire and have deserved their spot in the final in Newcastle. Of course, this has also set their traveling fans in a festive mood, so they made their way over to England in some numbers, mainly on Carpatair and Neos aircraft:

EUP421 CFE 0915-1015 NCL E145 F-HBPE (09/05/19)

KRP3020 LRH 0930-1020 NCL F100 YR-FKB (09/05/19)

NO5250 LRH 0915-xxxx NCL B738 I-NEOZ (10/05/19)

NO5790 CFE 0900-0955 NCL B738 I-NEOU (10/05/19)

NO5240 CFE 1000-1055 NCL B738 I-NEOW (10/05/19)

KRP3022 LRH 1030-1120 NCL F100 YR-FKA (10/05/19)

KRP3023 NCL 0000-xxxx LRH 

NO5251 NCL 0030-xxxx LRH B738

KRP3021 NCL 0040-xxxx LRH

NO5241 NCL 0115-0405 CFE B738

NO5791 NCL 0130-0420 CFE B738

Saracens vs. Leinster

The Irish giants are looking to win a fifth European title in Newcastle, having beaten Stade Toulousain in the semifinal, while Saracens are looking themselves for at least their second title. Saracens beat Munster in their semifinal in Coventry. The list of flights from Dublin to Newcastle is yet not complete, with many Aer Lingus Regional ATR-72 and Ryanair B737-800s mixing in too:

BRO37A LTN xxxx-1225 NCL B733 G-TGPG (10/05/19)

ENT578 DUB xxxx-1745 NCL B738 (10/05/19)

EI4350 DUB 0730-xxxx NCL

ENT555 DUB 0800-xxxx NCL B738

ENT581 DUB 0845-xxxx NCL B738

SR8066 DUB 0855-xxxx NCL A320

Heineken Champions Cup Semifinal, 20-21 April 2019

20 April 2019

Saracens vs. Munster Rugby (in Coventry, Ricoh Arena)

The mighty southern province of Munster will face the big-spending Saracens in Coventry for what promises to be a first clash of European rugby giants this weekend.

MLT615F SNN 1100-1200 BHX B735 (19/04/19)

21 April 2019

Leinster Rugby vs. Stade Toulousain

The two powerhouses of European Rugby, Leinster and Toulouse, will meet again in the semifinals, after already playing two fixtures earlier on this season in the group stages. Both clubs are multiple winners of the Champions Cup or the Heineken Cup in its earlier appearance before the beer sponsor briefly disappeared.


ENT501 TLS 1040-xxxx DUB B738 (20/04/19)

KRP2955 DUB xxxx-0115(+1) TLS F100 (21/04/19)
ENT506 DUB xxxx-1720 TLS B738 (22/04/19)

European Rugby Champions Cup Final, 12 May 2018

12 May 2018

Racing 92 vs. Leinster (in Bilbao)

The rugby equivalent of a Champions League final will take place in Spain for the first time ever, with the Basque city of Bilbao chosen for this showpiece between two of the leading teams in Europe at the moment. Racing 92 boast many French and other internationals, including superstar fly-half Dan Carter, while Leinster have integral parts of the currently very successful Ireland line-up in their ranks. No wonder there will be plenty of flight going from Paris and Dublin to Bilbao and also Vitoria:

FXP521 LBG xxxx-1745 BIO AT72 YR-FVL (10/05/18)

WX9360 DUB xxxx-1415 BIO RJ85 (11/05/18)

EI2750 DUB 1420-1730 BIO A332 (11/05/18, extra flight)

BUC863 DUB 0545-0805 BIO MD82

LAV8601 DUB xxxx-1015 BIO B738

EI2750 DUB 0710-1020 BIO A332 (extra flight)

KRP2864 DUB 0730-1025 BIO F100

HAT3780 DUB 0810-1110 BIO B734

ENT571 DUB 0825-1130 BIO B738

VBB921 DUB 0910-xxxx BIO MD82
SS832 ORY 1015-1150 BIO B744
AEH771 CDG 1030-1205 BIO E145
BUR512 DUB 1020-xxxx VIT B733 YR-TIB

MLT300 DUB 0740-1210 BIO B733

WX9362 DUB xxxx-1215 BIO RJ85

ZT9531 DUB 0740-1045 BIO B734

FR160 DUB xxxx-1315 BIO B738

EI2751 BIO 2325-0035(+1) DUB A332

EI2751 BIO 1745-1855 DUB A332 (13/05/18)

CLJ951 DUB 1000-1320 VIT B733 G-MISG (11/05/18)

LAV8601 DUB 0825-1135 VIT B738

CBX511 DUB xxxx-1240 VIT B733

LAV8602 VIT 2200-xxxx DUB B738

CBX512 VIT 2300-xxxx DUB B733

CLJ952 VIT 1700-xxxx DUB B733 G-MISG (13/05/18)