Updated list of 2017 NFL Charter Flight Numbers (including a real interesting one out of Baltimore)
Arizona Cardinals: GTI8614/8615*
Atlanta Falcons: DAL8863
Baltimore Ravens: Was OAE400, but flew to this week’s game in Nashville on DAL8864 - a B744, no less
Buffalo Bills: DAL8865/8866**
Carolina Panthers: AAL9476
Chicago Bears: UAL2539
Cincinnati Bengals: DAL8867
Cleveland Browns: UAL2535
Dallas Cowboys: AAL9458
Denver Broncos: UAL2544
Detroit Lions: DAL8868
Green Bay Packers: DAL8869/8870**
Houston Texans: UAL2536
Indianapolis Colts: DAL8871/8872**
Jacksonville Jaguars: GTI8624 (outbound)/8625 (inbound)
Kansas City Chiefs: UAL2543
Los Angeles Chargers: DAL8873
Los Angeles Rams: UAL2538
Miami Dolphins: BSK372/373**
Minnesota Vikings: DAL8874
New England Patriots: N36NE (previously used DAL8878 and DAL8879 before N36NE was placed into service)
New Orleans Saints: UAL2541
New York Giants: UAL2537
New York Jets: UA2534
Oakland Raiders: HAL7xx (charters this season began with HAL700, then increased by one i.e. HAL701, HAL702, etc.)
Philadelphia Eagles: AAL9474/9475**
Pittsburgh Steelers: BSK384/385**
San Francisco 49ers: UAL2540
Seattle Seahawks: DAL8875
Tampa Bay Bucs: DAL8876
Tennessee Titans: UAL2542
Washington Redskins: UAL2533
On the noted GTI flights, the first number is the outbound flight (from KPHX or KJAX), while the second number is the return trip.
** - On the noted DAL/BSK charters, some trips apparently use two planes, if I’m reading that right as both flight numbers are used for the same city pairs.
I can’t help but wonder if the Ravens’ had planned to use DAL all season long, considering this past weekend’s flight number fit perfectly into DAL’s ‘alphabetic’ numbering scheme (which is the same pattern they’ve used for their MLB, NHL and NBA charter flights).
For what it’s worth, the Pittsburgh Penguins have chartered with Miami Air for at least the past two seasons and it seems to have worked out well for them as they’ve won the last two Stanley Cups. Maybe some of that magic will rub off on the Steelers this season…
The weird thing was that after the San Diego Padres’ opening series at the Dodgers on April 6, there was a WN flight from LAX to SAN (I forget the actual number, but it was WN850x; I have to check one of my notebooks to confirm the actual number, but it was either 8505 or 8506). I say this is weird because WN doesn’t run scheduled flights between the two stations, but the timing of the flight was about a couple hours after the game ended. However, WN is a marketing partner with the Padres, so it’s possible that DL didn’t have any planes available for that particular trip (the NBA regular season was winding down, as was the NHL’s regular season), hence WN stepping in to cover the flight as a one-off.
In an article I found about charter plane shortages, I found out WN does have a charter service so it makes sense they might have chartered a Padres flight from LAX to SAN if the Padres elected not to ride the bus.
Same article says WN charters not good for NFL usage (no first class seats or hot meals) but I’m sure the MLB Padres wouldn’t complain about WN charters not having those things because of being a shorter flight.
Was that the article in the Chicago Tribune from over the summer? Because I seem to recall references to WN not being able to handle NFL charters (though they do have a few college football teams they transport).
I just looked it up again and it was a Chicago Tribune article from may.
Obviously the college kids haven’t developed gold plated tastes so they can cut off their leg circulation sitting in small WN seats and eat peanuts or “fiesta mix” while on a charter flight.
Unless they’ve changed their flight numbering system, an 8500-8549 flight number at Southwest is positioning ferry not related to a charter, like to balance equipment or get an aircraft to where it needs to be to fly a regular schedule. The plane could have ended up in the wrong city due to a diversion and has to get back in to place. Just a wag from me.
That might be a possibility, but the timing of that flight given when the game ended at Dodger Stadium - and no evidence of a corresponding DL charter between LAX and SAN at that time, led me to believe that it was a Padres charter. Is it possible that the ferry flight could’ve taken the Padres back to SAN, thus killing two birds with one stone?
Hello, I was lucky to catch the last Delta 747-400 landing/takeoff that Buffalo Bills charted few days ago enroute to LAX and I have pictures, if anyone want to see them, I can share the pictures as well. You can see it here:
