When you think of a private jet charter service, usually the images that come to mind are ones of gorgeous women with tiny dogs and luscious fur coats, their long legs gliding across the tarmac on impossibly high heels. Or maybe you imagine a well-suited and booted hunk lounging in the armchair in the pirate cabin, nursing a drink, and staring soulfully out the window. Traveling by private jet is the ultimate in travel luxury: the rich and famous have long had private jets on standby to avoid the crowds and delays at commercial airports. Those rich and famous people are not only actors and models but sportspeople as well. Sportspeople are among some of the most highly paid celebrities on the planet, and they travel as a part of their living. Any time that a sports person or team isn’t training or playing (or on designated vacation) is probably considered time wasted. That’s why sports people choose to charter private jets rather than fly on commercial planes, among other reasons. Let’s take a look in closer detail and break down some of the reasons why sports people choose to fly privately.
Convenience
If you’ve ever flown with a commercial airline and arrived at the airport to a miles-long line, a baby crying in front of you and one behind, had your luggage lost, or had a flight delayed, you know well the inconveniences that can come with sharing service with so many strangers and working with airlines which can’t place the needs or desires of one passenger above those of another.
If you’re constantly traveling to make it from state to state or even from country to country for matches or games, you simply won’t have the time available to take the chance that anything another passenger may do might impact your schedule. You (or rather your manager) won’t have the time to chase lost luggage all over the planet or sit wide awake for an entire ten-hour flight while a baby bawls in the seat behind you. Taking a private jet cuts out all that inconvenience and saves you time to boot. All the staff on the jet are there to focus solely on you or your team. You don’t have to stand in crazy long check-in lines; you know you won’t lose your luggage. Since the only other people on the plane will be the flight staff, your teammates, or managers, you can make the best possible use of your time in the air by going over strategy or taking a nap in preparation for a hectic schedule.
Private planes take off when you want them to, and hiring one means that you can take off when you need to rather than when the aircraft is scheduled to leave. That means no wasted time leaving earlier than you have to or arriving at your destination earlier than you need to be there.
Safety and Security
Famous sports people have a lot of fans. Those fans often come to the airport they’re leaving from or arriving at to get a glimpse of their heroes, and that can not only be difficult and at times frustrating (sports people love their fans, but fans can get intense!) but also even a security risk for the sports stars. Fans who get a little too close for comfort or who are a little too obsessed with a sports star might, whether on purpose or by accident, pose a physical threat to them or someone they love. It’s best to avoid this potential problem altogether by taking a private plane that does not leave from a commercially accessible building.
Traveling over the last few years has been difficult. There are still potential health risks and a few travel restrictions imposed on people entering certain states or countries which are designed to keep passengers healthy, but sometimes some things slip through the cracks. You need to be in top form and healthy as a horse to play the best game of your life, so cutting out all the unknown quantities (strangers on a plane) minimizes your risk of exposure to any germs.
Comfort
When you play sports for a living, your body is the tool that you make use of the most. Traveling on a commercial flight can, for all the reasons we’ve listed above, cause stress and, as a result, often lack of sleep or muscle tension. To play at your highest possible level, you need to be well-rested and travel in a comfortable position, especially if it’s a long flight. Private planes have far more comfortable seating arrangements than commercial planes do, and they offer the perk of a lot less noise or interruptions if you are trying to get some rest. Being crammed into a tiny seat next to a loud chewer certainly isn’t a path to a restful nap or relaxed shoulders that will be able to score match-winning goals. Sports people choose to fly privately rather than commercially to give themselves the most relaxing and restful travel time possible.
Wrap Up
When you really think about it, it’s pretty easy to understand why sports stars would rather use private than commercial planes when traveling. If you had the choice, which one would you pick?
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