Seeing as there are CFB and Men's CBB threads I figured it'd be fair to add one for the other, lesser sports that still charter aircraft.

It might be different due to Covid this year, but men's and women's basketball and football are really the only three sports that regularly do charters. Most other sports will just fly commercial if they need to travel by air (and in a lot of cases, it needs to be an 8+ hour drive to consider flying).

Basketball and football are the sports that drive the revenue, so they get the nice things like charters. Sure, there are some programs in the other sports that do make money (NCAA baseball has definitely closed the gap with some of the big programs in the past decade), but that's few and far between.

Caught this one tonight. North Dakota men's hockey team flying back on a Swift/iAero 734 after two wins in Colorado Springs against Colorado College: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N45 ... /KCOS/KGFK

Came across some NCAAW charters today:

Wake Forest on a Republic E170 up to South Bend for Notre Dame: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/RPA ... /KINT/KSBN

Oregon headed down to Tucson on Contour to face Arizona: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VTE ... /KEUG/KTUS

Missouri took one of RVR’s E135s down to UOX to face Ole Miss: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a2 ... 2021-01-13

Boston College on a JetBlue E190 down to SDF for Louisville: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU ... /KBOS/KSDF

Kansas women’s team heads down to AUS from LWC on a Meregrass Saab to face Texas: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N81 ... /KLWC/KAUS

Florida up to XNA on a hybrid SkyWest CRJ900 to face Arkansas: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SKW ... /KGNV/KXNA

Gonzaga down to MRY for their matchup with Santa Clara on their usual Key Lime EJet, N509GU: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LYM ... /KGEG/KMRY

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SKW ... /KMIA/KSYR
Miami Women’s up to CUSE

deltairlines wrote:

It might be different due to Covid this year, but men's and women's basketball and football are really the only three sports that regularly do charters. Most other sports will just fly commercial if they need to travel by air (and in a lot of cases, it needs to be an 8+ hour drive to consider flying).

Basketball and football are the sports that drive the revenue, so they get the nice things like charters. Sure, there are some programs in the other sports that do make money (NCAA baseball has definitely closed the gap with some of the big programs in the past decade), but that's few and far between.

Hockey, women's volleyball, wrestling and others fly charters at the bigger schools.

Republic has actively been getting charters the last month or two. They are targeting a few charters a week with dedicated aircraft for them.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ ... /KSYR/KSDF
Syracuse WBB to Louisville

Wisconsin men's hockey team over to State College on an Endeavor CRJ900: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV ... /KMSN/KUNV

Bowling Green men's hockey team up to BJI on an ACE E120 Brasilia to face Bemidji State: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KTOL/KBJI

Miami women's basketball on Swift/iAero up to Pitt: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ ... /KMIA/KPIT

UConn women's basketball on a UJC E135 down to TYS for a big match with Tennessee: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC ... /KBDL/KTYS

Clemson women's basketball on a Champion Air E145 down to TLH for FSU: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N50 ... /KAND/KTLH

Notre Dame women's basketball on a SkyWest CRJ900 over to ROA for Virginia Tech: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SKW ... /KSBN/KROA

Kentucky women's basketball on a UJC 328JET down to AUO for Auburn: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC ... /KLEX/KAUO

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC ... /KAND/KSYR
PITT Women’s BB to Syracuse on an E135

Here's a good one. Oregon Track and Field is on Sun Country and headed to XNA for the Razorback Invitational: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX ... /KEUG/KXNA

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SKW ... /KSBN/KSYR
Fighting Irish heading east for CUSE

Penn State wrestling team headed home after a match with Wisconsin

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC ... /KMSN/KUNV

Track and Field teams headed back home after the Tyson Invitational

LSU: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ ... /KXNA/KBTR

Oregon: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX ... /KXNA/KEUG

Texas: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SKW ... /KXNA/KAUS

Alabama Volleyball also heading home after playing the Razorbacks: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KXNA/KTCL

Women's basketball action from today:

Boston College down to GSO on a JetBlue E190 for the ACC tournament: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU ... /KBOS/KGSO

Auburn headed over to GSP on a UJC 328JET for the SEC tournament in Greenville: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC ... /KAUO/KGSP

Washington State headed down to Vegas on JSX for the Pac 12 tourney: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JSX ... /KPUW/KLAS

Oregon State flew down to Vegas on Contour for the Pac 12 tournament: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VTE ... /KCVO/KLAS

USC over to Vegas on JSX for the Pac 12 tournament: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JSX ... /KBUR/KLAS

Cincinnati down to HOU on a UJC E135 to face Houston: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC ... /KLUK/KHOU

East Carolina on a Champion Air E145 down to MSY to face Tulane: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N13 ... /KPGV/KMSY

Florida on an Endeavor CRJ900 over to GSP for the SEC tournament: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV ... /KGNV/KGSP

A busy day at XNA/FYV with the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend

LSU Track headed up to XNA on an Ameristar 737-200. What a sight to behold: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AJI ... /KBTR/KXNA

Oregon Track is flying into XNA on a Swift/iAero 737-400: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ ... /KEUG/KXNA

Tennessee Track is taking an IBC E145 over to XNA: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CSQ ... /KTYS/KXNA

Florida Track is also taking an IBC E145 over to XNA. Both IBC E145’s in use for NCAA charters today: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CSQ ... /KGNV/KXNA

Arizona Track is using FYV, and they’re headed over on Contour: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CSQ ... /KGNV/KXNA

Bama Track is on a Meregrass Saab, and they’re flying into XNA: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N81 ... /KTCL/KXNA

Georgia Track is headed over to FYV on an ACE E120 Brasilia: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KAHN/KFYV


Will also try to post some FCS Football charters in here this weekend and any other action that occurs.

North Dakota football flew on Swift/iAero down to MLI to face Western Illinois: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ ... /KGFK/KMLI

Missouri State football flew up to Sioux City on Swift/iAero for their matchup with South Dakota: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ ... /KSGF/KSUX

UC Davis football over to OGD on an Allegiant A319 to face Weber State: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY ... /KSMF/KOGD

Youngstown State football on Southwest for their flight over to FSD for South Dakota State: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA ... /KYNG/KFSD

Tarleton State football flew on a Hillwood 737 out of AFW up to SGU for Dixie State: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/HWA ... /KAFW/KSGU

Illinois State football on an Allegiant A320 up to FAR to face NDSU: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY ... /KBMI/KFAR


Here’s some other fun ones that I came across:
Arkansas softball on a World Atlantic MD83 over to CAE to face Carolina: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/WAL ... /KXNA/KCAE

Tennessee volleyball on an ACE E120 Brasilia over to FYV to face Arkansas: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KTYS/KFYV

Georgia women’s tennis headed back to Athens on an ACE E120 Brasilia after defeating LSU: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KBTR/KAHN

Boston College baseball on a JetBlue E190 over to SDF to face Louisville: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU ... /KBOS/KSDF

Vandy baseball on Swift/iAero over to SWO to face Oklahoma State: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ ... /KBNA/KSWO

FSU baseball up to ROA on Swift/iAero for Virginia Tech: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ ... /KTLH/KROA

Hello All, it's madness time again. Although this year's madness will look a bit different, flying is still a huge part of it. The Women's Hockey tournament takes place this weekend in Erie, PA. All teams arrived last week and were quarantining. We will get the list of flights as teams get eliminated.

For Women's Basketball, the field of 64 was announced on Monday and the armada heading towards SAT is in full swing today. I will do my best to try and guess which teams are on what planes, but many are coming from conference tournaments where multiple teams may be arriving from. Here is what has arrived or is en route as of 1:20 ET on Tuesday:
GUARANTEED DRIVING:
Baylor, Stephen F Austin, Texas,

FLYING:
WQ 734 - BDL-SAT for #1 UConn without Geno (he tested positive for COVID-19) https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ107/history/20210316/1300Z/KBDL/KSAT
G4 A320 - LAR-SAT for 14 seed Wyoming https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4026/history/20210316/1430Z/KLAR/KSAT
WQ 734 - GSP-SAT for one of the two 16 seeds from the GSP Area, North Carolina A&T https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ123/history/20210316/1400Z/KGSO/KSAT https://twitter.com/LadyAggieBall/status/1371818252242915331
G4 A320 - TPA-SAT because USF decided they couldn't bus across the bay! The plane ferried PIE-TPA and then flew out from there https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4040/history/20210316/1345Z/KTPA/KSAT (They have a great Instagram chronicling their journey @beabull_wbb)
G4 A320 - RDU-SAT I believe this is 1 Seed NC State (who will be playing NCAT) https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4019/history/20210316/1259Z/KRDU/KSAT
WQ 734 - PIH-SAT for 13 seed Idaho State. This is the first time I've posted about a plane leaving Pocatello, ID! https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ110/history/20210316/1400Z/KPIH/KSAT
SY 738 - MBS-SAT for 12 seed Central Michigan. Fire up the Chips! https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8631/history/20210316/1315Z/KMBS/KSAT
SY 738 - DAY-SAT for 13 seed Wright State to take on Arkansas https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8627/history/20210316/1315Z/KDAY/KSAT
SY 738 - CAE-SAT with one of the powerhouses in Women's NCAA - South Carolina https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8606/history/20210316/1310Z/KCAE/KSAT
SY 738 - RSW-SAT with Florida Gulf Coast as they prepare for Michigan https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8606/history/20210316/1310Z/KCAE/KSAT
WQ 734 - BWI-SAT MOST LIKELY carrying Maryland for their battle with Mount St. Mary's (two Maryland schools having to fly to Texas to play!) https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ121/history/20210316/1400Z/KBWI/KSAT
G4 A320 - PHL-SAT Drexel prepares to take on UGA https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4048/history/20210316/1430Z/KPHL/KSAT
G4 A320 - ISP-SAT for Stony Brook to battle Arizona https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4043/history/20210316/1341Z/KISP/KSAT
G4 A319 - SMF-SAT for UC Davis who takes on Missouri State https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4201/history/20210316/1551Z/KSMF/KSAT
G4 A319 - SJC-SAT as 1 seed Stanford travels in style to the Alamo City https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4014/history/20210316/1625Z/KSJC/KSAT
WQ 734 - GEG-SAT bringing Gonzaga down south https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ106/history/20210316/1600Z/KGEG/KSAT
WQ 733 - SAN-SAT...but there are no teams that played in or are from San Diego in the tournament.... https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ3555/history/20210316/1725Z/KSAN/KSAT (Military charter?)
WQ 734 - MGM-SAT taking Alabama deeper down South https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ108/history/20210316/2100Z/KMGM/KSAT
WQ 734 - RIC-SAT bringing the VCU women to Texas https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ125/history/20210316/2000Z/KRIC/KSAT
WQ 734 - SWF-SAT takes Marist down from New York https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ122/history/20210316/1300Z/KSWF/KSAT

Here is our night list of SAT arrivals.
SY 738 - PVU-SAT Either BYU or Utah Valley https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8647/history/20210316/2130Z/KPVU/KSAT
G4 A320 - ATL-SAT carrying Georgia Tech https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4021/history/20210316/2033Z/KATL/KSAT
SY 738 - SUX-SAT I'm stumped by this one. The closest team I could find was South Dakota State, but they are closer to FSD...so if they had to drive that far, it SUX! https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8626/history/20210316/2045Z/KSUX/KSAT
SY 738 - BNA-SAT is taking Belmont down to Texas https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8603/history/20210316/2015Z/KBNA/KSAT

I want to correct the previous post. The 3rd charter should read GSO - My apologies.
Here is the other 16 seed - High Point
WQ 734 GSO-SAT https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ132/history/20210316/1900Z/KGSO/KSAT

SY 738 JAN-SAT took Jackson State on a short flight down to the Alamo https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8615/history/20210316/2025Z/KJAN/KSAT
ANOTHER MYSTERY WQ 734 ELP-SAT - there's no teams anywhere near there!!! https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ3564/history/20210316/1900Z/KELP/KSAT
G4 319 BWI-SAT takes Mount St. Mary's to play against Maryland...in Texas https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4204/history/20210316/2000Z/KBWI/KSAT
G4 319 PIA-SAT has Bradley on board https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4212/history/20210316/2059Z/KPIA/KSAT
G4 320 ABE-SAT taking Lehigh down from the Lehigh Valley https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4215/history/20210316/2200Z/KABE/KSAT

Looks like Dayton will be taking Ultimate E135 DAY-RFD for the Women's NIT https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC56/history/20210317/1424Z/KDAY/KRFD

jco613 wrote:

Here is our night list of SAT arrivals.
SY 738 - PVU-SAT Either BYU or Utah Valley https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8647/history/20210316/2130Z/KPVU/KSAT
G4 A320 - ATL-SAT carrying Georgia Tech https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4021/history/20210316/2033Z/KATL/KSAT
SY 738 - SUX-SAT I'm stumped by this one. The closest team I could find was South Dakota State, but they are closer to FSD...so if they had to drive that far, it SUX! https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8626/history/20210316/2045Z/KSUX/KSAT
SY 738 - BNA-SAT is taking Belmont down to Texas https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8603/history/20210316/2015Z/KBNA/KSAT

I want to correct the previous post. The 3rd charter should read GSO - My apologies.
Here is the other 16 seed - High Point
WQ 734 GSO-SAT https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ132/history/20210316/1900Z/KGSO/KSAT

SY 738 JAN-SAT took Jackson State on a short flight down to the Alamo https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8615/history/20210316/2025Z/KJAN/KSAT
ANOTHER MYSTERY WQ 734 ELP-SAT - there's no teams anywhere near there!!! https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ3564/history/20210316/1900Z/KELP/KSAT
G4 319 BWI-SAT takes Mount St. Mary's to play against Maryland...in Texas https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4204/history/20210316/2000Z/KBWI/KSAT
G4 319 PIA-SAT has Bradley on board https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4212/history/20210316/2059Z/KPIA/KSAT
G4 320 ABE-SAT taking Lehigh down from the Lehigh Valley https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4215/history/20210316/2200Z/KABE/KSAT

Job well done on all of these! Enjoyed reading through. I believe MGM-SAT was actually Troy (they tend to use MGM, Alabama will use TCL or BHM if need be). SUX-SAT is South Dakota, as they usually do use SUX. As you noted, South Dakota St. would definitely use FSD or BKX. The two mystery WQ flights are ICE charters. Any WQ flight with 35** flight number is always an immigration charter. The women's charters are certainly fun to watch, as they didn't all come from Vegas, Greensboro or Newark haha!

I concur that this is a fun thread so far.

For the sake of the players and their families, I am glad to see so many charters being operated by Sun Country and Allegiant. If I were a parent, and knew something about the biz, I would just feel better with my kids on these strong Part 121 carriers. Allegiant cut back on charters a few years ago. With Covid, I guess that they and Sun Country have the available equipment and crews, and this is a nice side benefit for the teams.

That said, we all know that the right crew was driving that Ameristar basketball charter a couple of years ago, whose highly-experienced and decisive captain had the guts to abort immediately despite being above V1. Had he not been driving, or had he hesitated, and the CheckAirman flying in the right seat not honored his decision, that flight certainly would have ended very badly. https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-release ... 90307.aspx

wjcandee wrote:

I concur that this is a fun thread so far.

For the sake of the players and their families, I am glad to see so many charters being operated by Sun Country and Allegiant. If I were a parent, and knew something about the biz, I would just feel better with my kids on these strong Part 121 carriers. Allegiant cut back on charters a few years ago. With Covid, I guess that they and Sun Country have the available equipment and crews, and this is a nice side benefit for the teams.

That said, we all know that the right crew was driving that USA Jet basketball charter a couple of years ago, which but for the highly-experienced and decisive captain at the controls, who had the guts to abort immediately despite being above V1. Had he not been driving, and the CheckAirman flying in the right seat not honored his decision, that flight certainly would have ended very badly.

Agreed. Allegiant certainly benefited from the Miami Air collapse with respect to the NCAA charters. For the tournament, NCAA contracts with three carriers (was Swift, Sun Country, Miami Air but Allegiant has filled the void) for the teams to book through their travel agency, and the NCAA of course pays for their tournament trips. Usually, there's a few teams that will take DL or someone else that they usually fly, but even those teams have used the three NCAA carriers for this year, presumably because of the unique set-up for this year. Looks like they have just been dropping a team off in IND/SAT, picking up another, etc. It's certainly fun for the teams that don't fly for every game to fly to the tournament. Nice to see Allegiant back in the sports charter world for the NCAA for the postseason this year.

***Thank you mods for merging the topics! I did not know there was a topic already until AFTER I posted my 3rd post!***

gdavis003 wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

I concur that this is a fun thread so far.

For the sake of the players and their families, I am glad to see so many charters being operated by Sun Country and Allegiant. If I were a parent, and knew something about the biz, I would just feel better with my kids on these strong Part 121 carriers. Allegiant cut back on charters a few years ago. With Covid, I guess that they and Sun Country have the available equipment and crews, and this is a nice side benefit for the teams.

That said, we all know that the right crew was driving that USA Jet basketball charter a couple of years ago, which but for the highly-experienced and decisive captain at the controls, who had the guts to abort immediately despite being above V1. Had he not been driving, and the CheckAirman flying in the right seat not honored his decision, that flight certainly would have ended very badly.

Agreed. Allegiant certainly benefited from the Miami Air collapse with respect to the NCAA charters. For the tournament, NCAA contracts with three carriers (was Swift, Sun Country, Miami Air but Allegiant has filled the void) for the teams to book through their travel agency, and the NCAA of course pays for their tournament trips. Usually, there's a few teams that will take DL or someone else that they usually fly, but even those teams have used the three NCAA carriers for this year, presumably because of the unique set-up for this year. Looks like they have just been dropping a team off in IND/SAT, picking up another, etc. It's certainly fun for the teams that don't fly for every game to fly to the tournament. Nice to see Allegiant back in the sports charter world for the NCAA for the postseason this year.

Allegiant did their fair share of tournament flying in 2019, but you are right, it was mostly SY, WQ, and Miami Air. Remember the days that WN had the charter market covered?

NOW Onto the fun as Day 2 of the Armada sees most teams arriving:
SY 738 CID-SAT carrying the University of Iowa https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8644/history/20210317/2130Z/KCID/KSAT
G4 A320 TYS-SAT brings Good Ol' Rocky Top Tennessee for their matchup with MTSU https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4221/history/20210317/1948Z/KTYS/KSAT
G4 A320 LEX-SAT carries Kentucky into the Alamo State https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4024/history/20210317/2105Z/KLEX/KSAT
SY 738 SGF-SAT brought in Missouri State https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8608/history/20210317/2115Z/KSGF/KSAT
G4 A319 EUG-SAT brought Oregon to Texas https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4233/history/20210317/1800Z/KEUG/KSAT
SY 738 LAX-SAT took in UCLA https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8614/history/20210317/1730Z/KLAX/KSAT
WQ 734 SDF-SAT taking Louisville down south https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ145/history/20210317/1700Z/KSDF/KSAT
G4 A319 MKE-SAT brought in Marquette https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4028/history/20210317/1636Z/KMKE/KSAT
G4 A320 CKB-SAT flew West Virginia down after a short drive from Morgantown https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4224/history/20210317/1640Z/KCKB/KSAT
WQ 734 LAN-SAT carried Michigan State https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ146/history/20210317/1630Z/KLAN/KSAT
SY 738 DSM-SAT SY pulled double Iowa duty, taking Iowa State for the ride as well https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8643/history/20210317/1730Z/KDSM/KSAT
WQ 734 PUW-SAT brought Washington State in https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ147/history/20210317/1600Z/KPUW/KSAT
WQ 733 ATL-SAT most likely carrying UGA https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ160/history/20210317/1600Z/KATL/KSAT
WQ 734 EWR-SAT I do not have a matching school for this one...https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ144/history/20210317/1400Z/KEWR/KSAT
WQ 734 SYR-SAT brought in Syracuse https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ140/history/20210317/1430Z/KSYR/KSAT
WQ 734 FSD-SAT carried South Dakota State https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ148/history/20210317/1600Z/KFSD/KSAT
G4 A319 YIP-SAT brought in Michigan from Ann Arbor https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4227/history/20210317/1457Z/KYIP/KSAT
G4 A319 ORD-SAT carried in Northwestern https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4239/history/20210317/1359Z/KORD/KSAT
G4 A319 RDU-SAT brought over North Carolina most likely https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4015/history/20210317/1430Z/KRDU/KSAT
SY 738 PVU-SAT sent in the other one of BYU or Utah Valley https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8630/history/20210317/1500Z/KPVU/KSAT
G4 320 ROA-SAT brought in Virginia Tech https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4022/history/20210317/1402Z/KROA/KSAT
WQ 734 BMG-SAT brought down the Hoosiers from one of the cities hosting the men's tournament https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ143/history/20210317/1400Z/KBMG/KSAT
SY 738 TUS-SAT took an interesting route: MSP-NBC-NYL-TUS-SAT but ended up taking Arizona into town https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8612/history/20210317/1500Z/KTUS/KSAT
G4 A320 MCO-SAT in their return to MCO, G4 hosted the UCF Knights https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY4045/history/20210317/1259Z/KMCO/KSAT
WQ 734 INT-SAT not sure on this one as by my count High Point and Wake Forest were accounted for...https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ142/history/20210317/1300Z/KINT/KSAT
SY 738 OKC-SAT carried Oklahoma in https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8637/history/20210317/1500Z/KOKC/KSAT
SY 738 TCL-SAT HERE is Alabama's charter https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8609/history/20210317/1400Z/KTCL/KSAT
SY 738 XNA-SAT carried the Razorbacks of Arkansas (with the "most interesting coach in college basketball"...fun fact: he's not) https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8635/history/20210317/1400Z/KXNA/KSAT
AND FINALLY...SY 738 TLH-SAT brought in FSU https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8634/history/20210317/1300Z/KTLH/KSAT

Certainly enjoyed reading through today! Seemingly much more busy than IND, as much less teams were in driving distance of SAT. Teams also coming from their homes as opposed to from the conference tourneys so much easier to decipher for the most part, which is nice.

jco613 wrote:

WQ 734 EWR-SAT I do not have a matching school for this one...https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ144/history/20210317/1400Z/KEWR/KSAT

Would presume that this is Rutgers. They tend to use EWR.

jco613 wrote:

WQ 734 INT-SAT not sure on this one as by my count High Point and Wake Forest were accounted for...https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ142/history/20210317/1300Z/KINT/KSAT

I think North Carolina A&T probably was one of the GSO flights. I would venture to say that INT was Wake Forest, and the other two out of GSO were High Point and NC A&T.

My impression was that Allegiant didn't "benefit" from the Miami Air shutdown, but rather Covid caused it to increase the number of flights it was willing to run as charters. Allegiant was a big provider several years ago, and intentionally, to my recollection, cut way back on sports charters when it was having pilot and equipment availability issues when retraining folks for the Busses while dumping MD80s as quick as they could. They didn't have the slack, and they pulled back on charters. I think I read an article -- maybe even in the NY Times one year -- how the coaches were bitching up a storm about their teams having to wait for flights home after a loss, and the NCAA blamed it on the significant reduction in charter availability due to Allegiant pulling out. They were using folks like Kaiser (cool company) as much as they could, but still couldn't give the service that the coaches thought their teams were entitled to. (But my memory plays tricks on me from time to time, and for all I know I could be thinking of Southwest or someone else.)

It's also cool to look at the aircraft routings. I didn't do more than a sample, but WQ and SY seem to dedicate an aircraft to this for a day or so, and each makes 2-3 flights in a day to move the kids. G4 seems to take an aircraft from somewhere nearby, ferry in to the departure point, fly to SAT, drop the kids, and ferry straight to the origin of their next commercial flight and carry on. At least 3 that I looked at did this; no G4 aircraft I looked at stayed just on sports charter that day.

Also, interesting nearly-even distribution among iAero, Sunny and Allegiant. 10-each SY and G4, 9 WQ.

gdavis003 wrote:

Certainly enjoyed reading through today! Seemingly much more busy than IND, as much less teams were in driving distance of SAT. Teams also coming from their homes as opposed to from the conference tourneys so much easier to decipher for the most part, which is nice.

jco613 wrote:

WQ 734 EWR-SAT I do not have a matching school for this one...https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ144/history/20210317/1400Z/KEWR/KSAT

Would presume that this is Rutgers. They tend to use EWR.

jco613 wrote:

WQ 734 INT-SAT not sure on this one as by my count High Point and Wake Forest were accounted for...https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ142/history/20210317/1300Z/KINT/KSAT

I think North Carolina A&T probably was one of the GSO flights. I would venture to say that INT was Wake Forest, and the other two out of GSO were High Point and NC A&T.

Thanks, both of those make sense!

Remember, most women's tournaments ended the weekend BEFORE the selection show, which is why most were at home.

wjcandee wrote:

My impression was that Allegiant didn't "benefit" from the Miami Air shutdown, but rather Covid caused it to increase the number of flights it was willing to run as charters. Allegiant was a big provider several years ago, and intentionally, to my recollection, cut way back on sports charters when it was having pilot and equipment availability issues when retraining folks for the Busses while dumping MD80s as quick as they could. They didn't have the slack, and they pulled back on charters. I think I read an article -- maybe even in the NY Times one year -- how the coaches were bitching up a storm about their teams having to wait for flights home after a loss, and the NCAA blamed it on the significant reduction in charter availability due to Allegiant pulling out. They were using folks like Kaiser (cool company) as much as they could, but still couldn't give the service that the coaches thought their teams were entitled to. (But my memory plays tricks on me from time to time, and for all I know I could be thinking of Southwest or someone else.)

It's also cool to look at the aircraft routings. I didn't do more than a sample, but WQ and SY seem to dedicate an aircraft to this for a day or so, and each makes 2-3 flights in a day to move the kids. G4 seems to take an aircraft from somewhere nearby, ferry in to the departure point, fly to SAT, drop the kids, and ferry straight to the origin of their next commercial flight and carry on. At least 3 that I looked at did this; no G4 aircraft I looked at stayed just on sports charter that day.

Also, interesting nearly-even distribution among iAero, Sunny and Allegiant. 10-each SY and G4, 9 WQ.

G4 had a few planes do that but took more on one-offs, but yes it seemed like it was more of a bus situation than a plane situation. I wonder what the cost of chartering a plane say MSP-Team-SAT-Team-SAT-Team-SAT vs. 3 planes doing CVG-Team-SAT-PIE for example...

Looks like 3 of the 5 teams that flew in for the Women's Hockey tournament have exit plans...all on Endeavor

Boston College (CM8?) https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV5587/history/20210319/1410Z/KERI/KBOS
Minnesota Duluth https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV5585/history/20210319/1410Z/KERI/KDLH
Wisconsin after the Championship game tomorrow https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV5586/history/20210321/0340Z/KERI/KMSN (again, CM8?)
The only ones who would've flown that is missing is Northeastern, who is also in the Championship, although they could be using the plane I assumed was for Boston College, and Providence.

There is a CHANCE Boston College and Providence drove home as well...

Women's NIT:
Villanova - Key Lime E145 PHL-CLT https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LYM978/history/20210317/2000Z/KPHL/KCLT
Dayton - Ultimate E135 DAY-RFD https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC56/history/20210317/1424Z/KDAY/KRFD
Nebraska - the same Ultimate E135 LNK-MEM https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC56/history/20210318/1155Z/KLNK/KMEM
Ohio - Contour E135 PKB-CLT https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VTE3401/history/20210319/1205Z/KPKB/KBKW
Missouri - Contour E135 COU-DAL https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VTE512/history/20210317/2010Z/KCOU/KDAL
Colorado - Key Lime J328(!!!) BJC-MEM https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LYM563/history/20210317/2030Z/KBJC/KMEM

jco613 wrote:

Looks like 3 of the 5 teams that flew in for the Women's Hockey tournament have exit plans...all on Endeavor

Boston College (CM8?) https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV5587/history/20210319/1410Z/KERI/KBOS
Minnesota Duluth https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV5585/history/20210319/1410Z/KERI/KDLH
Wisconsin after the Championship game tomorrow https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV5586/history/20210321/0340Z/KERI/KMSN (again, CM8?)
The only ones who would've flown that is missing is Northeastern, who is also in the Championship, although they could be using the plane I assumed was for Boston College, and Providence.

There is a CHANCE Boston College and Providence drove home as well...

CM8 is an internal identifier to denote the difference between a 70 (CM8) seat CRJ9 and a 76 seat CRJ9.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SCX8 ... /KSYR/KRDU
SU MLAX on the rare SCX 737-7. First MLAX charter I’ve seen

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N814 ... /KRDU/KSYR
Duke Women’s volleyball heading up to Syracuse on a Saab

Well, championship college sports are back. The NCAA Volleyball tournament is being held in OMA, and there are a whole lot of arrivals into OMA today, mostly RJs. This is round one of arrivals, will post an update later this evening with the rest.

This is either High Point or North Carolina A&T headed over on a Meregrass Saab from GSO to OMA: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N81 ... /KGSO/KOMA

Whichever GSO-based team was not on the Meregrass Saab out of GSO is on an IBC E145 over to OMA: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CSQ ... /KGSO/KOMA

Army headed over to OMA on a Contour E135: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VTE ... /KSWF/KOMA

This is either Utah Valley or High Point (or maybe both?) headed over to OMA out of SLC on a Key Lime E145 (Utah and BYU should head over tomorrow since they play on the next day): https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LYM ... /KSLC/KOMA

Western Kentucky on an RVR E135 from BWG: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N31 ... /KBWG/KOMA

Texas State headed up to OMA on a Key Lime 328JET: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LYM ... /KAUS/KOMA

Jackson State is flying to Omaha on an ACE E120 Brasilia: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LYM ... /KAUS/KOMA

Lipscomb headed over to Omaha on a Meregrass Saab: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N81 ... /KBNA/KOMA

Georgia Tech headed over on a UJC E135 out of PDK: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC ... /KPDK/KOMA

This is either Wright State or Dayton headed out of Dayton on an ACE E120 Brasilia: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KDAY/KOMA

Bowling Green on an ACE E120 Brasilia out of TOL over to OMA: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KTOL/KOMA

This is likely LIU flying out of FRG over to OMA on a Contour E135: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VTE ... /KFRG/KOMA

Round Two!

Notre Dame on an Endeavor CRJ900 over to Omaha: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV ... /KSBN/KOMA

UCF flew up to Omaha on an IBC E145 with a stop in TUP to refuel: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CSQ ... /KSFB/KTUP

Florida is taking the same IBC E145 today, and it looks like they’ll either be stopping at TUP or NQA (secondary Memphis airport): https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CSQ ... /KGNV/KTUP

Texas on a Meregrass Saab over to OMA: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N81 ... /KAUS/KOMA

BYU is on a Key Lime 328JET for their flight to Omaha: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LYM ... /KPVU/KOMA

Purdue is on an ACE E120 Brasilia over to OMA: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KLAF/KOMA

Louisville on a Contour E135 for a relatively short hop over to Omaha: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VTE ... /KSDF/KOMA

Ohio State on an ACE E120 Brasilia over to Omaha: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FRG ... /KCMH/KOMA

Penn State on an RVR E135 over to Omaha: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N31 ... /KUNV/KOMA

Kentucky is on a Contour E135 today for their flight to Omaha: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VTE ... /KLEX/KOMA

Washington State is on a JSX E135 for their flight to Omaha: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JSX ... /KPUW/KOMA

The other three RVR E135s have also been in action for these charters.

N234BZ looks like it took Rice up to Omaha yesterday: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a2 ... 2021-04-11

N403RW looks like it took Texas A&M Corpus Christi and a team from GSO (there are only two GSO-based teams though, so not sure who took what, as there looks to have been three charters): https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a4 ... 2021-04-11

N926FM took Samford from BHM and Pitt: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ac ... 2021-04-11

Teams that I haven’t seen flights for yet that are likely to fly: Wisconsin, UCLA, Morehead State, Minnesota, San Diego, Towson, Washington, Oregon, Illinois State, UNLV, Baylor, UMBC, Pepperdine. Not sure what the rules are, but they could have very well flown commercially too.