Patriots are 1st NFL team to have their own airplanes

[Huckleberry1]

Pats being the first team to have a team plane gives you a good indication of how cheap owners really are.

And while it won't be a determining factor it certainly won't hurt in free agency.

 

[Huckleberry1]

No one I think. The guys I'd look to stash are Moore, Lucien, Carr, Butler, Langi are all having a good camp. Maybe they keep Carr but the other ones they need to either have on the 53 or they are gone.

So you think some may actually get to fly on Air Force 12?

 

[TB_Helmet]

I read somewhere that they are setting up seats in a way to help with recovery and treatment. Not sure if true. I'll post the link if I find it.

Edit :: It would be good to have injuries looked at on the flight back home. I wonder why they bought two though. The only need it for 11 trips a year (8 road games + 2 preseason road games + SB )

If you do find it, please post. Would love details. It would just be another way that the Patriots are maximizing their chances of winning.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Pats being the first team to have a team plane gives you a good indication of how cheap owners really are.

The going rate on those is $200M apiece.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

If you're going to go to that amount of expense, a simple repainting of the tail is nothing.

Id imagine those are fun expenses for Kraft, similar to how I would imagine that Belichick has zero issue writing a fat check for someone to repaint his boat

 

[bormio]

It was reported the planes cost $10 million a piece - there are 2. New would be $200 million each. These are refitted retired planes.

 

[slam]

I think the second plane will be traded to Cleveland for at least two first round picks.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

God. How long until they're flying over practices and doing surveillance on other teams in that thing?

Oh they'll claim it. But a 50 pound drone with a gopro would be immeasurably more effective.

It keeps having engine trouble. They've been rebuilding it since the 60s, but it still has yet to actually go anywhere.

I'd make a joke about complimentary cupcakes in the snack cart, but that'd just be piling on.

"Your captain has turned off the seat-belt sign. Flight attendants will be bringing you a goddamn snack."

Krafty going into the NFL charter business leasing out plane #2 to other NFL teams?
Bills need to be paid.
Maybe the NFL is a joint partner with best buddy Bob?
Do the Sox lease or own? Bruins? C's?

Let the Bills' management worry about that... we got us a flying machine! Whee!

An SR-71 painted in Patriots colors would look pretty sweet.

See above... appropriate technology. But it would look sweet as hell and psych the hell out of the rest of the league*. Actually... why don't we have a satellite?

All that said... please GOD set up a good flight operations department. We know how to do football, but aviation's a whole 'nother operation. The Patriots, in effect, just set up a very small charter airline.

I hope they're smart enough to focus every week on how they land and depart from the airports in question. "Roger, on to Cincinnati."

A good charter airline has to be meticulous about a whole 'nother business. Kraft doesn't seem the type to underestimate risk. Let's hope this is set up right.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

These are freaking sweet. I can only imagine this plane landing in enemy cities and it pissing people off. Only problem is they'll have to change the tail next year.

Not the first...(2005)

 

[fnordcircle]

Haha, eat a **** everyone who isn't us.

 

[Bill Lee]

Not the first...(2005)

The Seahawks never owned that plane. It is a freighter, not a passenger plane, so the Seahawks had no use for it. The original purchaser rejected it because it was late, burned more fuel than planned, and weight more than planned, so it was kicking around Boeing's factory doing nothing. Boeing painted it in Seahawks colors as a publicity stunt. It has been unsold for quite a while, but I think they finally found someone to buy it this year.

 

[bbobbo]

Not the first...(2005)

that's not the seahawks' team plane. it's a boeing 747-8 freighter painted in seahawks livery. boeing has a huge factory in everett and another one in renton, so it's natural for them to support the seahawks.

Boeing's Seattle Seahawks-themed 747 is back for an encore

the seahawks charter delta flights for their away games:

Seahawks and Delta Air Lines Extend Partnership


.

 

[FalconHeavy]

Not the first...(2005)

Nope that was a Boeing's tribute to the Seahawks Super Bowl appearance, they never owned it and as others said it's a freighter 748F series

 

[patchick]

That's a might fine-looking plane, and another example of how, in a salary-capped league, the Patriots organization pays top dollar for every possible non-capped advantage. (Coaching salaries, food and nutrition, practice facilities, etc. etc.)

But a little paranoid part of me can't help but imagine a ground crew worker who's a diehard fan of an opposing team glaring at that tailfin of Lombardis and trying to ground the flight.

 

[King Air Pilot]

As a pilot this is pretty exciting news. Unfortunately it is pretty well known that Kraft is a pretty crappy "owner" to fly for. He has two business jets (Challenger 300 and a Gulfstream V) managed by Executive Jet Management, and it is somewhat of a revolving door for pilots. Dead average pay and surprisingly under staffed with a crummy schedule.

I think it's very likely these jets will be chartered outside of the NFL season, Patriots/Kraft or not, it's hard to justify the operational costs of x 2 767's without supplementing charter flights.

 

[Gwedd]

What about...



...of course, it probably never left the ground.

Hell, they even have trouble just getting TO the damned airport.......

 

[King Air Pilot]

Oh they'll claim it. But a 50 pound drone with a gopro would be immeasurably more effective.


All that said... please GOD set up a good flight operations department. We know how to do football, but aviation's a whole 'nother operation. The Patriots, in effect, just set up a very small charter airline.

I hope they're smart enough to focus every week on how they land and depart from the airports in question. "Roger, on to Cincinnati."

A good charter airline has to be meticulous about a whole 'nother business. Kraft doesn't seem the type to underestimate risk. Let's hope this is set up right.

See my other post I just wrote, but unfortunately Kraft's existing flight department is more of a turd then a unicorn. That's pissed me off for years.

 

[Tony2046]

An SR-71 painted in Patriots colors would look pretty sweet.

 

[RayClay]

Was the team sold? I keep reading how Kraft is a terrible, cheap owner who only cares about making money.

 

[Bill Lee]

Shhh! Don't let everyone know that Cameragate was just a diversion for this!