Whether it’s a last-minute fixture change or an issue with a scheduled flight, sometimes college sports teams need a chartered aircraft to get from A to B at short notice. Here’s why we’re so adept at delivering these urgent charter solutions.
How ACS solves last-minute charter requests for college sports teams
Whether it’s a last-minute fixture change or an issue with a scheduled flight, sometimes college sports teams need a chartered aircraft to get from A to B at short notice.
“As with any trip, sports travel plans can go wrong at the last minute,” says commercial jets manager Dylan DiBona. “But while vacations, meetings and trips home can often be rearranged, for a college team it can mean missing a game or impacting pupils’ schedules. This isn’t an option for many athletic and school boards, so they reach out to us for help.”
Why is ACS so adept at delivering last-minute charter solutions?
“As one of the world’s largest charter specialists, our teams have spent over 30 years building up the necessary industry expertise, operator contacts and buying power to source the ideal aircraft for each client’s needs, even at late notice,” says Dylan.
“Rather than being tied to a fleet of aircraft, we have access to thousands of charter options worldwide. And although the US market for commercial-sized jets is more limited than Europe’s, our team can still find the ideal solution – even during busy periods.
“A perfect example is when a college asked us to help transport their men’s football team after the start of the season. Aircraft are usually booked up well in advance, but despite low availability we were able to find an Airbus A320 that could carry the 130-strong group and their equipment at a competitive price.
“Arranging last-minute charters was even more challenging at the pandemic’s peak, yet we were still able to come through for our clients. Once, after being given just two days to help fly a collegiate women’s basketball team from Florida to Alabama, we sourced an Embraer ERJ145 within a matter of hours for the 30 passengers and their equipment.”
How ACS provides the ideal charter solution
As well as excelling in arranging last-minute charters, our industry knowledge allows us to tailor each solution for our client’s unique requirements.
“Many collegiate football teams use ground transport to move their equipment, simply because there’s so much of it,” Dylan says. “Others prefer to travel with their kit, in which case it’s vital to choose a large enough aircraft.
“For example, if a football team was flying 130 passengers with limited equipment and standard luggage, we’d recommend an Airbus A319 with 153 seats. But if they wanted to travel with all their equipment, we’d use a larger Airbus A320 with up to 183 seats to avoid any issues with payload or cargo space on the day of the flight.
“Athletic departments, travel managers and coaches may also have specific requirements, such as when a college basketball team asked for an aircraft with business class seats to fly players from Virginia to a pre-season tournament in the Caribbean. We sourced a Boeing B737-400 VIP with enough large seats to fly all 50 passengers in comfort.”
How ACS makes personalization personable
When you request a charter with us, you’ll be assigned a dedicated charter specialist to handle all the logistics of your charter flight from start to finish. They’re also contactable 24/7 to solve any last-minute issues or schedule changes.
“Our industry contacts and knowledge allow us to tailor charters to each client’s needs, but it’s the personal nature of our service that really separates us from others,” concludes Dylan. “Each client has a point of contact to deal with every aspect of their charter, from last-minute changes to being at the airport to ensure everything runs smoothly.
“Having offices in six continents around the world and a sizable presence in the U.S. means that wherever you are, you’ll always be able to talk to someone with knowledge of the local charter market. This allows us to offer round-the-clock service, as well as giving us more control over charters leaving the U.S, such as when we worked with our colleagues across the pond to fly a college basketball team to a European tournament.”
To learn more about our sports charters and how we can get your college team to the next game, even at late notice, contact one of our team.