Inside An Incredible Private Flight To The European Soccer Championship

Most private jet charter customers are looking for an ultra-discrete way to travel away from the public gaze. That wasn’t the case when Air Partner took a call from gambling group Paddy Power requesting an aircraft to fly a substantial group of staff, brand ambassadors, and customers from the UK to Germany during this summer’s European soccer championship.

“This was a wow project, they wanted the flight to promote their brand,” said Air Partner’s senior vice president for group charter, Clive Chalmers. The UK-based charter broker is a subsidiary of private aviation group Wheels Up and arranges flights for its North American customers worldwide.

Paddy Power’s wish list was long and complex. They wanted an aircraft operator willing to allow the cabin interior to be decked out in its company colors and logos, and for flight attendants to wear special uniforms for the trip, and serve branded food and beverages.

“Not many operators would be suitable for this type of thing,” Chalmers told BJT. Air Partner booked UK-based 2Excel Aviation to provide a Boeing 737-700 aircraft often used to carry professional sports teams.

All 62 of its 46-inch-pitch seats were filled for the flight from London Stansted Airport to Düsseldorf on Sunday, June 16, carrying fans to England’s game against Serbia in nearby Gelsenkirchen. The VIP configuration is far more spacious than a standard 737-700 airliner which would typically have up to 130 seats.

The Ireland-based company’s guests arrived for their “Paddy Fairlines” flight at Stansted’s Inflite Jet Centre FBO where they checked in at a specially-branded area and were issued with green boarding passes. Once on board, the cabin crew channeled Paddy Power’s irreverent humor to make improvised announcements.

Joking apart, plenty can go wrong with a complicated charter trip like this, especially during a high-pressure event like a major international sporting event. This is where Air Partner’s highly experienced brokers earn their money.

“The airport slot situation was something we had to consider, but fortunately the airport infrastructure in Germany is good, which gave us options for our customers,” Chalmers explained. “We always have to give customers a full picture of what could go wrong, and how we would handle that.”

Preparations had to include solid Plan B scenarios to take account of any technical problems that could have grounded the aircraft. They also had to plan for a possible late departure on the return flight that could have triggered problems due to current restrictions on nighttime movements at London-area airports.

Three brokers, including Chalmers, worked the arrangements for the “Paddy Fairlines” flight. Tasks included sourcing branded head-rest covers, crew uniforms, and catering supplies.

According to Chalmers, demand for corporate group travel has picked up since 2023, with flights requested for conferences, product launches, and incentive events. The automotive industry has become a big driver of demand, whether its aircraft needed to fly production staff between manufacturing sites or journalists to an exotic location to test-drive a new high-end sports car.

“In terms of supply and demand [for charter aircraft], this is probably the first normalized year since Covid, and there will always be peaks around the Summer,” Chalmers commented. “With our low turnover of experienced account managers, this is where we come into our own. We’re expert consultants.”

When Wheels Up acquired the 63-year-old Air Partner in 2022, it provided a platform to extend its service to membership and charter clients beyond its core North American service area to arrange flights to and from hard-to-reach locations. The potential customer base for its charter brokering services was further expanded through Wheels Up’s close ties with its main shareholder Delta Air Lines