Here's a really cool concept that will almost certainly never see the light of day... Professional athletes travel quite a bit, and the logistics of that can be complicated. Teams travel with a lot of people, and more often than not they charter planes. Well, Nike and Teague have partnered to design a plane for…
Continue reading: Cool Concept: Special Nike Boeing 787 For Athletes
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How about an airline buying one and chartering it to sports teams?
Suppose an airline charges 50% extra for this plane - if it really gets athletes to their destination in better shape teams will pay.
This would be much more economical than a team buying one, but I guess still not enough.
Most NBA teams currently use a fleet of charter-configured Delta 757s that are shared. A few teams have their own planes, the Mavericks have a 767 for example.
This is a huge upgrade from even a decade ago when many teams used their own planes or scattered charter services. Some used old 727s, others used old 737-200s and DC-9s and they couldn’t make it from the East Coast to the West without refueling. The Chicago Bulls of the 90s splurged on chartered MGM Air 727s.
Back then the idea of flying 757s would’ve sounded over the top. So anything is possible. But for something like this I suspect 2 things would have to be true: 1. It’s a used plane that is reconfigured. 2. It’s for use in the event pro sports teams in the US expand overseas to Europe or China and the plane is used for those trips. That was a conversation a few years ago, seems laughable now, but who knows in the future.
Am I living in a time warp? This story is about six year old and first surfaced some time in 2014?
I’d be curious to see what configurations pro basketball teams use on their charters today. Some rosters have their shortest guy at 6’6’’ and the “tall players” go north of 7’. So comfort, circulation, etc. has to be a concern. Then again, basketball only goes on seasonally, so if you are a charter it is tough to justify a special Configuration For basketball when the rest of the year you fly shorter people around. I’d agree a cheap old widebody owned outright could be the way to go for a team...but probably tough to find one that isn’t coming up on a D-check.
I would say now would be the time to get a 787 for such a plane. Given the collapse of long haul air travel there are airlines and lessors that would take pennies on the dollar just to get money flowing in. And although the concept was designed for the 787, I could see some variations of the design coming to a 767 or 777 acquired on the secondary market with all the retirements.
“While the concept of maximizing rest sounds great, for the most part these charter flights are just a few hours, so it’s not like there’s a huge opportunity to get rest anyway”... Of course now you’re a sports specialist and medical doctor... You’re only fly for FUN... Imagine a person that has a real job and has to use his body at work... Any rest is better than nothing...
For American teams, I do agree though that their rest is limited on the majority of flights for these teams. The longest is the occasional cross-country flight.
I could see this making more sense for European soccer (excuse me, football) clubs who do take a few more longer flights for international competition such as Champions League, club world cup, friendly's, etc. Plus they have significantly deeper pockets to make it more viable.
I think a big part of the 787 versus a 767/777 is the fact that when pressurized, the 787 feels more like one is at 6000 ft above sea level, versus 8000 ft for the 767/777. That's a huge difference, especially when we're talking about a major focus of this plane being able to allow world-class athletes better recovery from travel.
This concept serves as a reminder that the very wealthy folks who own their own private widebodies generally choose the same boring interior decor and features that are found on smaller private jets instead of spending just a little more to have something truly special.
Although there are some specific features here unique to the needs of professional athletes, a lot of the design ideas could translate to a very pleasant personal jet instead of a very expensive motorhome.
If there was a Hawaiian pro team, I could see that this would be much more feasible for them. The economics of such a plane might work though if the costs were somewhat comparable for a charter or that you could utilize it enough to keep it economical. If there was only one, would be hard, since NFL plays mostly Sundays. Other leagues have more throughout the week but the seasons ebb and flow. Lots of 777 and 747s on the market right now!
I could see Nike owning one, contracting the operation of it with an airline or charter company, and then offering it up as either a paid charter or "free" promo for their sponsored teams and partners for big events.
Think things like their premier teams, World Cups, Australian open, Olympics, National Championships and other playoff games, etc. Each time it's used it would likely garner a lot of "free media" and good graces with the athletes & teams with whom they partner.