With the completion of last week’s Champions League and Europa League draws, the sport travel industry’s 2017-18 season has well and truly kicked off.
With the value of the global football market increasing year on year, charter services are an increasingly important part of the travel planning for players, teams and supporter groups.
Take a look at our infographic below for a summary of last year’s air charter movements:
Catriona Taylor, group passenger operations director at Chapman Freeborn, says:
“Our charter services are always in high demand at this time of year – but the start of this season has been exceptionally busy for both team travel and player movements.
“There’s still a few days of the transfer window to go, but we’ve already seen English Premier League clubs smash their own transfer spending record, and extraordinary activity across the other big European leagues. Alongside pre-season tour flights, this means new signings and loan players flying in at short notice for contract talks and medicals.
“The industry is now responding to the European draws which traditionally start the scramble for group flights for fans. This year’s high demand is partly down to a summer of headline-making transfers like the Neymar deal – but it’s also the first time we’ve seen five English clubs in the Champions League, plus the addition of two newcomers in RB Leipzig and Qarabag.”
She adds:
“Outside of Europe our offices around the world are also seeing growing demand for football travel – reflecting the fact that the game is becoming more global than ever. We’re now working with teams from leagues all over the world – from the Brasileirão to the Chinese Super League. It’s exciting to see how the game and its travel requirements continue to evolve and grow year-on-year.”