The Patriots have "become the first NFL team to buy their own plane to fly to games," according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. Sources said that the Patriots "bought two 767 Boeing wide-body jets in the offseason and retrofitted them with all first-class seats, some of which recline completely." On the outside of at least one of the planes "is the team logo and five Lombardi trophies on the tail." A source said that the planes the Patriots bought are "extended range, which allows the planes to fly nonstop for about 12 hours." Sources said that one plane will be "used as the main plane for the season, while the other will be the backup, with flight operations being run out of Providence." It is "expected that team-owned planes will help give athletes a leg up on the recovery process, which is one of the areas that interested the Patriots." It is "not known how aggressively the team will seek to make up some of its costs by advertising the planes' availability" (ESPN.com, 8/8). In Boston, Ben Volin reports the families of team personnel "may be allowed to use the secondary plane, as will Patriots sponsors." The Patriots will allow the second plane "to be rented out during the season" when the team is not using it." It also could be used for "special charter flights for fans to attend playoff games and Super Bowls" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/9). In Massachusetts, Conor Ryan noted while the "lack of total road games have usually scared off NFL teams from buying their own planes, the Patriots' latest transaction might be a cost-effective move as charter travel continues to get more expensive." American Airlines last year said that it will "no longer fly" the Cardinals, Ravens, Colts, Jaguars, Steelers and Dolphins (MASSLIVE.com, 8/8).
FLY BOYS: Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said of some NFL teams having to find new ways to fly to games, "This reality of major airlines dropping teams is going to create some real problems for teams, scrambling to find other alternatives using non-traditional air travel companies. I'm told one team is actually using a company that specializes in military charters." Florio said of the Patriots buying their own plane, "There aren't many teams that could do this. All due respect, Jaguars and Browns, if they have their own planes that are available for lease from January until August, you won't get a lot of demand from corporate outings and ultra-rich fan boys to lease their planes. The Patriots, Cowboys, Steelers, Packers -- big national brands. If you have these teams that are just completely, just obscenely full of logos and colors, and it's the official plane that the team uses to travel from city to city and they're swanky first class seats, you're going to make some money. You're going to pay for that plane eventually, because you're going to have plenty of people that are going to want to use that plane in the offseason" ("PFT," NBCSN, 8/9).
