Greensboro NC, February 26 2019 – Swift Air, the largest Supplemental Air Carrier and independent charter airline in the United States, announced today that it is significantly expanding its already robust, dedicated service to college and university athletic teams. Swift, which operates a fleet of 30 Boeing 737 aircraft, will increase the number of its aircraft that exclusively service colleges and universities from four to seven during the 2019-20 academic year.

With the big boys getting out of the college sport charter business, I suspect the the extra three dedicated planes will provide much needed lift especially for the non Big 5 conferences.

https://www.flyswiftair.com/sportstrave ... zFIdgqomLw

I wonder how their seating would be configured? I don't think 350 pound offensive linemen are going to be happy sitting in standard 17" six abreast seating on a 737.

flyingclrs727 wrote:

I wonder how their seating would be configured? I don't think 350 pound offensive linemen are going to be happy sitting in standard 17" six abreast seating on a 737.

No matter what airline teams flies, they all face the same seating issues...For instance Ohio State uses a UA 738, and before that they chartered a Miami Air 738. They all have 17' seating. Now Arizona State and Arizona uses a America West, US Airways and now American 321's which have 18" sitting..

There is no way that Swift has "30 737 aircraft." I think at most they have 5.

910A wrote:

flyingclrs727 wrote:

I wonder how their seating would be configured? I don't think 350 pound offensive linemen are going to be happy sitting in standard 17" six abreast seating on a 737.

No matter what airline teams flies, they all face the same seating issues...For instance Ohio State uses a UA 738, and before that they chartered a Miami Air 738. They all have 17' seating. Now Arizona State and Arizona uses a America West, US Airways and now American 321's which have 18" sitting..

But are they putting 6 football players per row or just seating them in window and aisle seats with an empty seat in the middle? A 5 abreast configuration would allow seating an extra player per row.

flyingclrs727 wrote:

910A wrote:

flyingclrs727 wrote:

I wonder how their seating would be configured? I don't think 350 pound offensive linemen are going to be happy sitting in standard 17" six abreast seating on a 737.

No matter what airline teams flies, they all face the same seating issues...For instance Ohio State uses a UA 738, and before that they chartered a Miami Air 738. They all have 17' seating. Now Arizona State and Arizona uses a America West, US Airways and now American 321's which have 18" sitting..

But are they putting 6 football players per row or just seating them in window and aisle seats with an empty seat in the middle?

yeah, you're not filling up every seat in Y. You'll see middle seats open.

mhkansan wrote:

There is no way that Swift has "30 737 aircraft." I think at most they have 5.

27 by my count:

N811TJ
N418US
N420US
N804TJ
N529AU
N531AU
N438US
N440US
N441US
N802TJ
N801TJ
N458UW
N807TJ
N808TJ
N313XA
N314XA
N430XA
N545CC
N538CC
N285XA
N806TJ
N149XA
N803TJ
N277EA
N624XA
N917XA
N276EA

mhkansan wrote:

There is no way that Swift has "30 737 aircraft." I think at most they have 5.

Yep they do..Swift got several ex-US -400 series and just last month took they took three ex-WN -300 series aircraft..Swift currently has 29 737's with one -800 series pending entering service.

I agree, with the big 3 getting out I'm sure swift will "swiftly" come in and take up the sport charter market. I've fueled a lot of Swift Charters and they use them for teams not as big as Ohio State but, for smaller D1AA football teams too as well as fan charter traveling with the team if needed.

910A wrote:

mhkansan wrote:

There is no way that Swift has "30 737 aircraft." I think at most they have 5.

Yep they do..Swift got several ex-US -400 series and just last month took they took three ex-WN -300 series aircraft..Swift currently has 29 737's with one -800 series pending entering service.

Swift has grown to be MASSIVE for a charter airline. On top of the fleet of 30 they also play a role in Dynamic (Now Eastern?) but those numbers aren’t reflected in their fleet.

I think there should be a thread on charter airlines to document these changes. Swift really exapanded under our noses, would love to get more information on This. Charter airlines are a topic that aren’t touched much.

allegiantflyer wrote:

Swift has grown to be MASSIVE for a charter airline. On top of the fleet of 30 they also play a role in Dynamic (Now Eastern?) but those numbers aren’t reflected in their fleet.

Not anymore. Swift was sold and no longer has common ownership with Eastern.

Still says they own Dynamic

https://centreforaviation.com/data/prof ... ift-air-q7

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-New ... n-Airlines

The venture failed, however, and the airline, as well as its name, was purchased by the charter operator Swift Air in the summer of 2017. Dynamic's sole owner, Kenneth Wooley, also owns 38.75% of Swift Air.

flyingclrs727 wrote:

I wonder how their seating would be configured? I don't think 350 pound offensive linemen are going to be happy sitting in standard 17" six abreast seating on a 737.

Very few weigh if any 350 lb. Try 280-320. And Div I teams have 85 scholarship players with NCAA travelling squads limited to 70. Which means at most 30-33 offensive players and at most 12-15 offensive linemen. Not a big deal on a 737. Even with players, coaches, trainers, managers, and media, you're going to have almost every middle seat open.

They're growing because they have a lot of repatriation work.

wjcandee wrote:

They're growing because they have a lot of repatriation work.

World Atlantic does most of the repatriation work. Swift is mostly sports teams and .mil charters. This last NHL season was big corner turning moment for them.

CALMSP wrote:

flyingclrs727 wrote:

910A wrote:

No matter what airline teams flies, they all face the same seating issues...For instance Ohio State uses a UA 738, and before that they chartered a Miami Air 738. They all have 17' seating. Now Arizona State and Arizona uses a America West, US Airways and now American 321's which have 18" sitting..

But are they putting 6 football players per row or just seating them in window and aisle seats with an empty seat in the middle?

yeah, you're not filling up every seat in Y. You'll see middle seats open.

In addition to using actual weights for everyone onboard and luggage, the team usually is listed as 1.5 seats per player (so 2 players for every 3 seats) for football. The staff, media, etc are then 1 each. Not 100% sure if that's a legal requirement, or just practical, but I've been at 3 schools and all were the same there.

flyingclrs727 wrote:

910A wrote:

flyingclrs727 wrote:

I wonder how their seating would be configured? I don't think 350 pound offensive linemen are going to be happy sitting in standard 17" six abreast seating on a 737.

No matter what airline teams flies, they all face the same seating issues...For instance Ohio State uses a UA 738, and before that they chartered a Miami Air 738. They all have 17' seating. Now Arizona State and Arizona uses a America West, US Airways and now American 321's which have 18" sitting..

But are they putting 6 football players per row or just seating them in window and aisle seats with an empty seat in the middle? A 5 abreast configuration would allow seating an extra player per row.

How would that even work? 5 abreast. How does that make the seats wider?

32andBelow wrote:

flyingclrs727 wrote:

910A wrote:

No matter what airline teams flies, they all face the same seating issues...For instance Ohio State uses a UA 738, and before that they chartered a Miami Air 738. They all have 17' seating. Now Arizona State and Arizona uses a America West, US Airways and now American 321's which have 18" sitting..

But are they putting 6 football players per row or just seating them in window and aisle seats with an empty seat in the middle? A 5 abreast configuration would allow seating an extra player per row.

How would that even work? 5 abreast. How does that make the seats wider?

Well there are 5 abreast planes like the DC-9 and its derivatives, and the C-Series/A220. The 737 is wider than either of those planes. It could be configured with 5 abreast seats similar to premium economy seats found on some wide bodies.

Grandforks12 wrote:

I agree, with the big 3 getting out I'm sure swift will "swiftly" come in and take up the sport charter market. I've fueled a lot of Swift Charters and they use them for teams not as big as Ohio State but, for smaller D1AA football teams too as well as fan charter traveling with the team if needed.

WQ will have their hands full if they're going to expand their NCAA football charter coverage, especially when they currently have contracts with several NHL teams, so there might be some schedule overlap. Even so, I wouldn't expect to see anything concrete about any CFB charter reductions by the US3 and WN (they do have a couple of FBS Power Five teams in their charter rotation) until August. I'd be shocked if DL is really going to be dropping a lot of their SEC and ACC contracts next season, but I noticed fewer AA charters this season (Pitt being one of the most notable drops).

Varsity1 wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

They're growing because they have a lot of repatriation work.

World Atlantic does most of the repatriation work. Swift is mostly sports teams and .mil charters. This last NHL season was big corner turning moment for them.

Off the top of my head, WQ operated charters for the following NHL teams: Boston, Carolina, Chicago, Florida (I think this was inherited from their acquisition of Eastern v.2.0 - or v.3.0), Nashville, New York Islanders, St. Louis and Vegas. I may have missed a couple, but I seem to recall Nashville has previously chartered on DL before switching to WQ within the last year or two.

Swift plus Eastern can also use their 767s. The problem is finding 767s not claimed by a freight forwarder. As for 737s, what about 737-900ERs coming off lease that can be configured with 200 seats? Swift could do a lease to own.

flyingclrs727 wrote:

I wonder how their seating would be configured? I don't think 350 pound offensive linemen are going to be happy sitting in standard 17" six abreast seating on a 737.

No different than the UA, DL, AA, WN, SY charters they've been using for years. Also, from their announcement:

"Swift Air is a licensed FAA – Part 121 Air Carrier offering high-density seating in several interior configurations, including interior layouts for VIP-First Class travel that includes 68 First Class seats and club-style seating sections, as well as Wi-Fi and inflight entertainment capability. Swift now offers more, higher-end travel options that fit teams’ budgets and mission requirements."

tjwgrr wrote:

flyingclrs727 wrote:

I wonder how their seating would be configured? I don't think 350 pound offensive linemen are going to be happy sitting in standard 17" six abreast seating on a 737.

No different than the UA, DL, AA, WN, SY charters they've been using for years. Also, from their announcement:

"Swift Air is a licensed FAA – Part 121 Air Carrier offering high-density seating in several interior configurations, including interior layouts for VIP-First Class travel that includes 68 First Class seats and club-style seating sections, as well as Wi-Fi and inflight entertainment capability. Swift now offers more, higher-end travel options that fit teams’ budgets and mission requirements."

The sixty eight seat planes will not be used for college football..Those are for the NHL and VIP charters..

aemoreira1981 wrote:

Swift plus Eastern can also use their 767s. The problem is finding 767s not claimed by a freight forwarder. As for 737s, what about 737-900ERs coming off lease that can be configured with 200 seats? Swift could do a lease to own.

Those 767s have not been used in a while. I know we saw them subbed for their 738s that were undergoing some inspections here in STL, but they aren't used often. Airfleets shows them as stored, but I don't think that is accurate.

TWA302 wrote:

aemoreira1981 wrote:

Swift plus Eastern can also use their 767s. The problem is finding 767s not claimed by a freight forwarder. As for 737s, what about 737-900ERs coming off lease that can be configured with 200 seats? Swift could do a lease to own.

Those 767s have not been used in a while. I know we saw them subbed for their 738s that were undergoing some inspections here in STL, but they aren't used often. Airfleets shows them as stored, but I don't think that is accurate.

The 767s are usually out of MIA. Eastern just put a 35-year old B762(ER) originally ordered by EgyptAir into service, N928SS, and they may have access to an ex-El Al B763 as well that is owned by Kenneth Woolley's SPV, along with a B772 ex-KQ that would be more suitable to military charters.

Varsity1 wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

They're growing because they have a lot of repatriation work.

World Atlantic does most of the repatriation work. Swift is mostly sports teams and .mil charters. This last NHL season was big corner turning moment for them.

Also, Swift pretty much owns Cuba charters out of MIA now after buying the other two players (Eastern and Xtra).

aemoreira1981 wrote:

TWA302 wrote:

aemoreira1981 wrote:

Swift plus Eastern can also use their 767s. The problem is finding 767s not claimed by a freight forwarder. As for 737s, what about 737-900ERs coming off lease that can be configured with 200 seats? Swift could do a lease to own.

Those 767s have not been used in a while. I know we saw them subbed for their 738s that were undergoing some inspections here in STL, but they aren't used often. Airfleets shows them as stored, but I don't think that is accurate.

The 767s are usually out of MIA. Eastern just put a 35-year old B762(ER) originally ordered by EgyptAir into service, N928SS, and they may have access to an ex-El Al B763 as well that is owned by Kenneth Woolley's SPV, along with a B772 ex-KQ that would be more suitable to military charters.

I saw N928SS went into service, but I have no idea what they plan to do with it considering that they already have half a dozen 767s gathering dust around MIA and they’ve lost the Gulfstream Cuba charters to WOW. The only regular flights I see the 767s do is to Maracaibo.

America West used to have an all first class configured B737-100 for the Phoenix Suns, I think it had 57 seats? It was awesome to get that aircraft every now and then on an PHX-ELP run.

My sister this past summer flew the 767 from MIA-HAV-MIA.

The 767s don't seem to do much flying, and what they do fly seems largely confined to MIA/JFK-CCS/MAR.