How pro athletes travel: Chick-fil-A sandwiches and 60 inches of legroom

Once you make it big in the world of pro-sports, traveling suddenly becomes a much more enjoyable experience. While most of the world stuffs itself into tiny seats hoping for a bag of pretzels, the world of chartered sports flights means a whole different level of luxury.

In the US, one of the largest operators of private sports charters is actually an airline you and I have probably flown in the past year – Delta Air Lines.

Delta flies a fleet of eight Airbus A319s in VIP configuration, capable of seating 54 passengers. Seats have 60 inches of legroom, can swivel and some rows feature private card tables.

The crew members on these planes have cheat sheats telling them the preferences of their athlete passengers – from their favorite snacks to what kind of soda they prefer. In addition to this, they’ll even provide special treats like Dove Ice Cream bars and Chick-fil-A sandwiches. Even the top tier elite members on commerical flights don’t get that kind of treatment.

Then again – with flights costing up to $1.3 million, you really should expect a certain level of luxury. The total bill for a sports team is up to $3 million a season, and most of that goes to Delta Air Lines.

[Photo: Bloomberg]

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk – Atlantis Launch, Wakeboarding, Seaworld, & Magic Playoffs!


GadlingTV’s Travel Talk, episode 18 – Click above to watch video after the jump

In our last Orlando installment, we showed you the retired side of life in Orlando – and now we’re going full throttle.

Because Orlando is famous for its theme parks, we discuss the biggest, best, and most bizarre theme parks around the world. We’ll tell you where you can pay to wear a gasmask and ‘experience communism’, drive tractors, and who holds the title for the most rollercoasters in one park.

As we explore Orlando’s adventurous side, we head to Titusville for a live Shuttle launch, teach Stephen how to wakeboard, ride roller coasters at Seaworld, and witness our first NBA playoff game. Enjoy!


If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.

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Links
Actually want to experience survival drama for yourself? Visit Europe’s strangest attraction!
There’s only two more shuttle launches left! Find out all the details on the remaining launches from NASA.
Thinking of picking up wakeboarding? Read these beginner tips first!



Hosts: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Special Guests: Nathan, our wakeboard expert.

Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea

Music by:
This Holiday Life
“Mission Control to My Heart”
myspace.com/thisholidaylife

Kansas City’s empty arena

There’s a modern ghost town in Kansas City. Efforts to attract a major league basketball or hockey team came up empty, and the Sprint Center stands empty. Then NBA and NHL have been looking to smaller cities for expansion opportunities, according to an article in The Atlantic, because they won’t have to compete with local baseball or football teams for fan dollars. Since Kansas City has both, filling the Sprint Center has become quite a chore.

Since it doesn’t have the 200 events a year that were expected, the Kansas City Sprint Center is just hanging around and operating at a loss. One hopes this does not splash over to the surrounding businesses – such as restaurants – that were opened in anticipation of 18,500 asses in seats for hockey games, concerts and whatever else they can drag into town.

The arena is an architectural marvel but, for now, a commercial disaster. How else would you describe an attraction that there’s no reason to visit?

The Sprint Center is even empty on Twitter, where it has only 102 followers.

NBA basketball team forced to spend night in grounded plane

Paying for checked baggage, endless hours on the tarmac, canceled flights… think you’re the only one that has to deal with bad airline service? Apparently even the rich and famous have to deal with such inconveniences, at least in the case of the San Antonio Spurs.

After winning the game and securing their spot in the NBA Western Conference Semifinals on Monday night, the Spurs intended to fly directly to Los Angeles and get ready for their next game against the Lakers. No such luck. On account of maintenance problems, the team spent Monday night in the classiest of accommodations… aboard their grounded charter plane.

Don’t get me wrong, I am sure that the charter plane — operated by carrier Champion Air — with all first class seats is much more comfortable than anything I’ve ever flown in, but I wouldn’t want to spend the night in one. Trans-Atlantic and red-eye flights are bad enough, but sleeping in a plane that remains on the ground is even worse.

Like many other airlines, Champion Air has been going through some rough times and will stop flying at the end of May when it goes out of business. So what carrier should the NBA go for next? Maybe one that gives out hotel vouchers.