Currently, athletes across many sports leagues typically fly on chartered flights to get from game to game. The majority of these are operated by a charter company directly chartered by the sports team itself. Beyond this, many sports teams own or operate their own business jets, which help facilitate the unique operations of navigating a sports schedule.
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Traveling in the MLB
Many cities that are home to sports teams have large airports with many direct flights from their local airports. However, games for various leagues start and end at difficult times for the team itself to catch a direct flight back home or to the next game in their schedule. To avoid unnecessarily waiting overnight, the chartered flights may take off directly after a game and get the team en route to their next game quickly and efficiently. The chartered flights are typically large enough to hold an entire team, along with the coaching and medical staff that accompany the team in larger leagues. Because of this, it makes sense why professional sports teams will charter large business jets during extensive team travel.
Teams in the Major League Baseball (MLB) league are no different. The majority of these teams follow suit of other leagues, with the team chartering a flight in between games to the team’s next destination. Although there are 162 games in an MLB team’s schedule, these chartered flights are typically spread out throughout the season. The MLB schedule is fairly efficient, meaning that a team will travel to another team’s home city to play a series, which typically includes three to four games over several days. The team will then usually have a break of a few days to travel to the next destination.
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Some of these destinations are close by, meaning travel is easy. However, there are still MLB teams spread across the United States and Canada, meaning that several cross-country trips are required during an MLB season, which requires a large aircraft to transport all the athletes, coaches, and staff on the team. Currently, the only team that owns its own aircraft is the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers own a converted Boeing 737, which can fly across the country to each destination on its schedule while also having enough room to fit the entire roster, coaching staff, and other members of the team. Other professional sports teams that operate their own business jets include:
- New England Patriots
- Arizona Cardinals
- Boston Celtics
- Dallas Mavericks
The practice of flying across the country has been well-established during MLB’s history. However, it was truly introduced to the league in the 1950s. Let’s take a closer look at the team who started this method of traveling, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Let’s also take a look at the first aircraft they owned and operated, a Convair 440, which also happened to be the first private jet owned by an MLB team.
The Brooklyn Dodgers’ Convair 440
According to the Dodger Blue, on January 4th, 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers organization became the first team to purchase a private jet specifically for player travel. This aircraft was a Convair 440, which could seat up to 44 passengers. This was more than sufficient for transporting the team’s roster and staff members. The Convair 440 was operated until 1961, when the team upgraded to a Lockheed Electra II.
Photo: Peter Scharkowski | Shutterstock
Previously, the Dodgers owned a smaller private jet, a Douglas DC-3, although it was primarily used to transport executives. This aircraft mostly flew from the team’s spring training facility in Vero Beach, Florida, to New York, where the team was based. This aircraft was used from 1949 through 1957. However, it only had 22 seats, meaning it was not sufficient to transport an entire MLB team.
In 1957, the Dodgers decided to purchase an aircraft to transport their entire team to games across the country. This meant that an upgraded aircraft with additional seats was required. Prior to this, MLB teams historically used buses and trains to transport their players to each game. However, these methods of transportation were extremely slow and somewhat unreliable. Because of this, the Dodgers became the first MLB team to utilize an aircraft to transport their team during the lengthy MLB schedule.
About the Convair 440
The Convair 440 was a variant of the Convair 240 series of aircraft, which was introduced several years earlier, in 1947, with American Airlines. It was meant as a replacement for the airline’s Douglas DC-3 aircraft. It reached the market as a pressurized aircraft with a long fuselage and twin engines. Many airlines would utilize this aircraft, including:
Nicknamed the Metropolitan, Convair introduced the 440 in 1954 to compete directly with other turboprop-powered aircraft in the regional airline industry. This aircraft included several upgrades, including streamlined cowlings, improved engine exhausts, and an upgraded cabin. Many consider this aircraft to reach the limit of piston-engine power, so it was the last airliner that Convair produced powered by piston engines. The Convair 440 was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp piston engines.
Even so, the Convair 440 was operated by several airlines, including Finnair and Delta Air Lines. This aircraft achieved the following performance specifications:
|
Maximum capacity |
52 passengers |
|---|---|
|
Length |
79 feet |
|
Height |
28 feet |
|
Wingspan |
105 feet |
|
Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) |
47,000 pounds |
|
Range |
580 miles |
|
Top speed |
284 miles per hour |