Ready to go - Champions League Group Stage MD1

17 September 2019

Group E

FC Salzburg vs. KRC Genk

Missing out on the Champions League for ten years, Salzburg has finally made it to the main event as a result of Austria's improving country coefficient. They will play against Genk first up, an opponent that should not be underestimated, because after all, Belgium's national team is the number 1 in the world. There will be two flights for the team and the staff traveling to Salzburg, with Jet Netherlands and TUI Belgium:

JNL927 MST xxxx-1230 SZG E145 (16/09/19)

TB9200 MST xxxx-1240 SZG B738 (16/09/19)

JNL927 SZG 1200-xxxx MST E145 (18/09/19)

TB9300 SZG 1245-xxxx MST B738 (18/09/19)

SSC Napoli vs. Liverpool FC

Last season's winners Liverpool start their title defence in Italy, away at the refurbished San Paolo. There is only a hint yet of what they will fly with, which should be one of the spectacularly painted KlasJet Boeing 737-500s.

Group F

Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Barcelona

Two heavyweights of European football clash in Dortmund, where the Borussia takes on the mighty FC Barcelona. As usual, Barcelona will travel with Air Europa, while their supporters will have to make do with a Vueling flight. The late night departure is still not possible from DTM, so these flights will depart from Cologne instead.

UX937 BCN 1555-xxxx DTM B738

VY4008 BCN 0810-xxxx CGN A320

VY4009 CGN xxxx-1325 BCN A320

UX938 CGN xxxx-0300 BCN B738

VY4018 BCN 2200-xxxx CGN A320

VY4019 CGN xxxx-0315 BCN A320

Inter Milan vs. Slavia Prague

The Czech champions have come through the qualifiers, while Inter of course are well-known guests in the Champions League.

Group G

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Zenit St. Petersburg

FV4102 LED xxxx-1330 LYS

FV4101 LYS 2230-xxxx LED

SL Benfica vs. RB Leipzig

KLJ3189 LEJ 1230-xxxx LIS B735 LY-FLT

Group H

Ajax Amsterdam vs. OSC Lille

Much was written about Ajax and them having to qualify for the competition again, even though they had almost made to the final last season. But here this young team is again, looking to put smiles on the fans of Dutch football again.

Chelsea vs. Valencia CF

Valencia face a difficult task straight away, traveling to Stanford Bridge for a game against the Europa League winners from last season.

YW2011 VLC 1155-xxxx STN CRJX

YW2014 VLC 1700-xxxx LGW CRJX

YW2015 STN xxxx-0350 VLC CRJX

YW2012 STN xxxx-0430 VLC CRJX

Linz or Brugge - Young Boys or Red Star?

20 August 2019

LASK Linz vs. FC Brugge

Having both beaten the thought-to-be favourites in the previous round, Linz and Brugge are now facing off for a spot in the group stage of the 2019-2020 Champions League. First up, Brugge are traveling to Upper Austria from Ostend, using a Brussels Airlines A319:

SN1061 OST xxxx-1240 LNZ A319 OO-SSC (19/08/19)

SN9934 LNZ 1320-xxxx BRU A319 OO-SSC (19/08/19, ferry flt)

SN9933 BRU xxxx-2340 LNZ A319 (20/08/19, ferry flt)

SN1062 LNZ 0100-xxxx BRU A319 (21/08/19)

APOEL Nicosia vs. Ajax Amsterdam

It may seem strange that last season's beaten semifinalists from Amsterdam have to play the qualifiers, but this is the nature of the Champions League these days for a club that does not come from the ultimate top leagues. Ajax is traveling down to Cyprus on an Air X Boeing 737-500:

AXY1918 AMS 1000-1500 LCA B735 9H-AHA (19/08/19)

21 August 2019

BSC Young Boys vs. Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade)

The Swiss champions are hosting their Serbian counterparts in the first leg and once again, Berne's runway appears too short for the kind of transport of choice. So Red Star Belgrade will arrive with AirSerbia's charter arm Aviolet on Tuesday and will leave on the day after the match:

2L1672 ZRH 0820-xxxx BEG E190 (20/08/19, ferry flt)
2L8673 BEG 1100-xxxx BRN E190 (20/08/19)
2L1673 BRN xxxx-1420 ZRH E190 (20/08/19, ferry flt)

JU9060 BEG 1020-1230 BSL B733 (20/08/19)

JU9061 BSL 1315-xxxx BEG B733 (20/08/19, ferry flt)

JU9060 BEG xxxx-1150 BSL B733 (22/08/19, ferry flt)

JU9061 BSL 1235-xxxx BEG B733 (22/08/19)

There is a hint of information that these flights could be operated by AirSerbia's own Airbus A319 aircraft as well.

Dinamo Zagreb vs. Rosenborg Trondheim

Amongst the national champions who still battle it out for a spot in the 2019-2020 Champions League (or a Europa League spot for the losers of course), Dinamo Zagreb and Rosenborg have taken it to the play-off stage. Rosenborg will travel to Zagreb with Widerøe, most probably with one of the state-of-the-art Embraer E2s:

WF7603 TRD 1230-xxxx ZAG E190 (20/08/19)

WF7604 ZAG xxxx-1535 TRD E190 (22/08/19)

Olympiacos Piraeus vs. FK Krasnodar

FV4304 KRR xxxx-1430 ATH A319 (20/08/19)

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)

Insight into R2 first leg travel - UEFA Champions League on 23 & 24 July 2019

23 July 2019

The New Saints vs. FC Kopenhagen

Having beaten the Kosovo champions Feronikeli, New Saints will be up for a different, more difficult challenge this week. The Danish champions FCK will fly to Liverpool on a Danish Air Transport MD-83:

DX3081 CPH 1100-1145 LPL MD83 (22/07/19)

DX3082 LPL 0000-0245 CPH MD83 (24/07/19)

Saburtalo Tbilisi vs. Dinamo Zagreb

Dinamo Zagreb will start their adventure in Georgia, against Saburtalo, who beat Sheriff Tiraspol in the first round last week.

A92808 ZAG 1000-1500 TBS B737 (22/07/19)

A92807 TBS 0200-0330 ZAG B737 (24/07/19)

PSV Eindhoven vs. FC Basel 1893

Round 2 brings some cracking matches already, in the League route, where the runners-up from the Netherlands and Switzerland will face off against each other. With no more charter capacity available in Basel, the Swiss vice-champions are counting on Helvetic Airways for the time being for their away trips:

2L1432 ZRH 0830-0915 BSL E190 HB-JVT (22/07/19, ferry flt)

2L8432 BSL 1000-xxxx EIN E190 HB-JVT (22/07/19)

2L1433 EIN xxxx-1325 ZRH E190 HB-JVT (22/07/19, ferry flt)

2L1434 ZRH xxxx-xxxx EIN E190 (24/07/19, ferry flt)

2L8435 EIN xxxx-1425 BSL E190 (24/07/19)

2L1435 BSL 1505-xxxx ZRH E190 (24/07/19, ferry flt)

Viktoria Plzen vs. Olympiacos Piraeus

Another match-up of runners-up takes place in Plzen, where Viktoria Plzen and Olympiacos Piraeus will try to end others' hopes of making the Champions League group stage once again:

AEE4010 ATH 1000-1140 PRG A320 (22/07/19)

Sutjeska Niksic vs. APOEL Nicosia

APOEL will once again travel early, making use of some spare time of one of Aegean Airlines' A320s that are based in Cyprus:

AEE4950 LCA 2355-xxxx(+1) TGD A320 (21/07/19)

24 July 2019

CFR Cluj vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv

ED1155 TLV 0850-xxxx CLJ B738 (23/07/19)

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)

UEFA Champions League Final, 1 June 2019

Final (in Madrid, Wanda Metropolitano)

1 June 2019

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool FC

With the English season ending fairly early, Liverpool FC manager Jürgen Klopp decided that a training camp in Marbella was the right thing to do, so the club rented the GainJet Boeing 757-200 SX-RFA for the trip down south:

GNJ57 BHX 1030-1100 LPL B752 SX-RFA (20/05/19, ferry flt)
GNJ57 LPL 1430-1800 AGP B752 SX-RFA (20/05/19)
GNJ57 AGP 1915-2045 BHX B752 SX-RFA (20/05/19, ferry flt)

Some groups of VIPs, maybe in direct relation with UEFA, will arrive directly from Baku, where three days earlier, the UEFA Europa League final will take place:

AHY5223 GYD 1300-1700 MAD B752 (30/05/19)

For a long time we did not know who would play in the final. But we always know that the media interest in this particular fixture is extremely high. Therefore, some flights for the media and sponsors have already been prepared, irrespective of who actually plays in this match. Also, some airlines have decided to put on extra capacity between Liverpool, Manchester, London and Madrid:

FR3688 STN 1710-2040 MAD B738 (30/05/19)

FR3686 LPL 0600-0925 MAD B738 (31/05/19)
VY7577 LPL 0605-0935 MAD A321 (31/05/19)
VY4001 LPL xxxx-1040 MAD A320 (30/05/19)
VY7583 LPL 0730-1100 MAD A321 (31/05/19)
VY7589 LPL 0735-1105 MAD A321 (31/05/19)
FR3688 STN 0900-1230 MAD B738 (31/05/19)
AWC3331 LPL xxxx-1305 MAD B752 (31/05/19)
ARN229 LPL xxxx-1435 MAD B763 (31/05/19)
FR3685 LPL 1150-1515 MAD B738 (31/05/19)
CRL846 LPL xxxx-1520 MAD B744 (31/05/19)
ET8705 LPL xxxx-1540 MAD B789 (31/05/19)
VS9967 LPL xxxx-1620 MAD (31/05/19)
VY7579 LPL 1325-xxxx MAD A321 (31/05/19)
BA2898 LGW 1340-1705 MAD A320 (31/05/19)
VY7585 LPL 1435-xxxx MAD A321 (31/05/19)
VY7591 LPL 1440-xxxx MAD A321 (31/05/19)
IBK8440 LGW 1500-1825 MAD B738 (31/05/19)
BA514 LHR 1600-1930 MAD A321 (31/05/19)
IB2565 LTN 1740-2120 MAD A333 (31/05/19) (arriving LTN at 1550, IB2564)

FR3693 DUB 1820-2200 MAD B738 (31/05/19)
IB2569 LGW 1855-2235 MAD A346 (31/05/19) (arriving LGW at 1720, IB2568)
VY7581 LPL 2015-xxxx MAD A321 (31/05/19)
VY7593 LPL 2130-xxxx MAD A321 (31/05/19)
BA2894 LGW 2130-0055(+1) MAD B772 (31/05/19)
VY7587 LPL 2135-xxxx MAD A321 (31/05/19)

IB2561 MAN 0430-xxxx MAD A319 (01/06/19) FR3686 LPL 0600-0925 MAD B738 (01/06/19)

ENT595 FCO xxxx-0930 MAD B738 (01/06/19)

ENT593 LGW xxxx-0950 MAD B738 (01/06/19)
IB2543 MAN 0640-xxxx MAD A332 (01/06/19)
FR3688 STN 0830-1200 MAD B738 (01/06/19)
SE960 STN 0930-1300 MAD A333 (01/06/19)
BA514 LHR 1030-1400 MAD A320 (01/06/19)
IB2551 LTN 1125-xxxx MAD A333 (01/06/19)
FR3685 LPL 1150-1515 MAD B738 (01/06/19)

ENT596 MAD 0155-xxxx FCO B738 (02/06/19)

ENT594 MAD 0155-xxxx LGW B738 (02/06/19)
FR3693 DUB 1820-2200 MAD B738 (02/06/19)

Find the data from last year's final in Kiev right here:

https://championsleaguecharters.blogspot.com/2018/05/uefa-champions-league-final-26-may-2018.html