Sports Charter Question

[RDU-JFK]

When the Mets are chartering a Delta aircraft to fly to an away game (let's say ATL), do they leave from one of the Delta terminals at LGA and wait in the standard boarding areas or do they board at a different terminal (and from where?).

[LGA777]

Sometimes Sports Teams departing LGA have their aircraft remote parked on the MAT ramp or at 5 Towers. Often times though the aircraft is parked on a normal gate for that airline, the team is on busses which are escorted ramp side, and they board via airstairs or sometimes up the steps that are attached to the jetway.

Also in a lot of cities they land at an airport with little or no commecial flights, for example BED for Boston, BKL in Cleveland, PIE for Tampa, MKC for Kansas City, BFI for Seattle, among others. At these airports the aircraft normally parks at an FBO who is equiped for, and used to handling 757/763 size aircraft !

Here are some recent flights for the Yankee's, from their current provider, Delta.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL9817/history

Hope this helps ?

LGA777

[RDU-JFK]

Cool! Thanks for the info!

So the players don't need to clear a TSA security checkpoint?

[lijk604]

They are still screened by TSA. They will set up a temporary area either in the FBO, or if the weather is nice, very close to the aircraft. All passengers on board are wanded, and run through the No-Fly List. This is for all "large aircraft" charters (727, 737 & up). If you are just shuttling 1-2 players on a private jet, which is done with certain teams & players, and they fly on a small aircraft (Lear, Hawker, Gulfstream, etc) then just a No-Fly list check is accomplished.

edit: unless of course they are flying into DCA. In which case, they get the whole treatment, and can only depart from certain FAA authorized gateway airports.

[Lezam]

Everyone seems to be switching to delta for charters, from ata

[Mateo]

Sports charters don't use DCA. The only charter flights are ones "operated" by government figures, i.e. John Lewis's Civil Rights Tour or, this past weekend, N659JB running John McCain back from New York. At IAD, they use the cargo area, with the pax bussed out from Landmark. At BWI, also cargo, but I've never seen one operate, so I don't know if the passengers go through the FBO, or through an unused checkpoint.

[Gerard]

Mmm, when I saw the Islanders depart a few times from FRG at the Atlantic ramp it looked like they just walked through the gate onto the waiting plane.

[LGA777]

I actually went through a remote site TSA screening myself. When US did our Retro schemes each aircraft had official dedications for each one with media, employees, retiree's, and management with CEO Doug Parker always being the Master of Cermonies. PSA was done in SAN, PI in CLT, HP in PHX but they chose to do two in the same day for the Allegheny, PIT and PHL. Since at the time I was doing some photography for the company and would be photographing both events I was invited by Corporate Communications to fly on the by invitation only reposititing flight from the PIT hangar to the PHL hangar. TSA was in the hangar and when it was time for boarding the 12 or so of us where wanded and they hand checked our carry on bags on a table next to the airstairs. We actually pushed back from inside the hangar and nosed in to the one in PHL, it was pretty cool.

I think sometimes with these charters some sort of screening is done prior to boarding the busses at the Stadium.

Regards

LGA777

[moose135]

Mmm, when I saw the Islanders depart a few times from FRG at the Atlantic ramp it looked like they just walked through the gate onto the waiting plane.

They have that booth that looks like a check-in spot, maybe they get a quick screening in there. When JetBlue came into FRG for the Hofstra team charter (2006?) and parked over at SheltAir, TSA set up a couple of folding tables on the ramp next to the plane, and screened everyone there.

[Iberia A340-600]

While I was out at SWF during UN Week I watched a Miami Heat charter unload its players. The 737-400 parked very close to the entrance gate onto the ramp and the players deplaned right into their chartered bus and off they went.

However I'm not sure how the boarding procedure went.

[Gerard]

>They have that booth that looks like a check-in spot, maybe they get a quick screening in there. <

Right I've seen that booth but i've also seen them walk past it. Well I guess we'll have to wait till next year.