Ex-Delta Boeing 777 Becomes Sports Charter For Arizona Cardinals

In a country as large as the US, flying between venues is a common occurrence for professional sports teams. Franchises in the NFL (National Football League) have some of the largest squads around, and so flying so many players and staff can be challenging. With this in mind, the Arizona Cardinals have acquired an aircraft of their own- a jet that was once operated by Delta Air Lines!
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[@mpsangha]

This is the last remarkable aircraft that Boeing has created. If you haven't yet, watch the documentary "21st century jet" and it details the engineering development and building/testing of the 777. You can find it on KZbin. One of the best documentaries I've ever seen, the last of the golden age of Boeing in the 90s...

[@CARBONHAWK1]

787 has been a hit with Boeing despite its minor issues.

[@hongkong7358]

Over 1000 787 have been delivered while 251- a380 (production and deliveries finished) and 461 -a350 have been delivered which combined is 712 aircraft which is still less than the boeing 787 which still has more orders pending to be delivered

[@jeromebennett9154]

@@hongkong7358 but the 787 has also been in service for 5 years more than the a350, and those 461 aircraft you are saying are delivered is just for the dash 900 variant, and you would compare the 787 to the a330 not the 350 and 380. The a330 has delivered 1561 units.

[@DreamlinerFan2016]

Though I am no Football fan, it is nice to see this former Delta plane back in the skies again! 😁👍

[@leniterfortis4832]

I definitely like the red on that jet.

[@genoservello8007]

Yes I use to work the Dodger's 720B...We had the contract with American at LAX...that was so much fun...back in the mid,and late 70's...

[@jimshaw597]

Blast form the past! My dad managed the maintennce.

[@Archduke17]

Uh...the Cardinals were upset by the lowly Detroit Lions in that game. The plane may have made them too comfortable.

[@chrislohphotography]

😂

[@adub1300]

8-1 road record this season says otherwise!

[@indranimaharaj507]

I think the 777 for the Arizona Cardinals is perfect because of its comfort for the Football players and the range the 777 can fly at (14,305 KM).

[@johniii8147]

They really don’t need it’s range, but the size. I’m also sure they got a great price on it since used on of 200ER has little demand

[@Wheninflight]

It's good to see that N867DA got a second life. I would one day like to see it coming to Memphis, but we do not have an NFL team. Still, I have seen some IAero Airways 737 classics and a Delta 757 for other sports charters before.

[@_Corndawgg]

Cargojet is getting a converted 77L from DL

[@6easton3wallace6]

I saw it a few weeks ago getting upgraded at KAFW airport in Texas. Pretty cool plane

[@TheShawAviation]

Im so glad that one of Deltas 777's isnt getting scrapped. Very very happy.

[@MSRTA_Productions]

It's Awesome! Hope to see it one day if we ever play against the Cardinals

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

I miss when our Coyotes had their 727-200 parked on the GA ramp next to the freeway for all to see.

[@mpsangha]

They have a 757 now, I see it parked at phx whenever I fly in or out

[@ATi1300Ramiro]

I love driving past the freeway on I-10 westbound. Sometimes you get lucky and spot a 747 at the UPS terminal, or at some of the other planes owned by sports teams.

[@robk3005]

Nice to see the B777 being used again. I'm sure the team will really like the flexibility of having their own aircraft for the road games. The only thing is it just shows how big a business NFL teams really are, and how much money they spend/earn because of the game.

[@jcord0013]

I'm all for free enterprise, but when an organization is hell bent on using their clout to push social and political agendas targeting the public, I'm not with them anymore.

[@robk3005]

@@jcord0013 I am of the same opinion for any person with a large following. Stick with what you do professionally and do not give personal opinions into social or political issues.

[@alooga555]

Rapper Drake owns his own 767.

[@codacreator6162]

I worked the ramp at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport back when I was younger and America West Airlines maintained a number of custom livery aircraft, including an Arizona Cardinals’ Boeing 757. It was all red with a Cardinals’ logo on the side and AWA markings on the tail. When AWA was acquired by US Airways, the Cardinals’ logo livery disappeared. I’m glad to see the team and Bidwell family successful enough to revitalize the livery and restore some of our stature as a genuine NFL force. Go Big Red! Thanks, Simple Flying, for covering the news!

[@adub1300]

Never thought I’d see my sad little football team featured on Simple Flying! I can’t wait to catch this bird at KPHX.

[@tstraw48]

They play 8-9 away games. Seems like a lot of expense for 16-20 flights. no?

[@chrislohphotography]

Good point. Maybe it can be available for other charters since the team’s schedule is planned far in advance and is fairly rigid

[@curtislin6637]

The patriots are know for using their 767s for PR and charity air lifts. Quite possible the cardinals will do something along the matter, recall the 767s used during the Puerto Rico earthquakes and for medevacs, etc.

[@BChandl13]

No. It's all about cost. The plane was super cheap, because there's no second hand demand. However, before (and eventually) after Covid the cost of chartering a widebody 767/777 from the legacy airlines in the states had skyrocketed because the teams need the planes from Thursday - Monday, and so that's 4+ days of lost international revenue + costs. In fact, American and United dropped all teams that don't play in their hub cities in 2018 because they realized they could make more money just using the planes in commercial service and there's estimates that it costs upwards of 6-8m/year for those 8 charter flights.

[@th3_huskywave103]

Amazing

[@sky-tf4bd]

Living around the Phoenix area, this makes me excited to hopefully see this plane.

[@Dokatrall]

The Same exact aircraft I flown on back in 2012 from Detroit to soul when it was in service with Delta at the time

[@dodoubleg2356]

Before US Airways merged w/AA, they were the airline chosen to fly NFL teams. Therefore, each team had an A320 w/it's logo on the tail. In '08/'09 when the Steelers won SB 43, I was traveling extensively between Pittsburgh & Philly. Obviously those aircraft are still used for regular routes when not being used by the team, so when I saw the Airbus Steelers plane pull in for my flight home to Pittsburgh, as a die-hard Steelers fan I was ECSTATIC!!! Def. 1 of my Top 5 most memorable aircraft flown

[@csk4j]

beautiful!

[@kevinnava5809]

In my opinion I think it’s really cool 😎 to see sports teams get their own planes ✈️. Not only does it give them a way to travel long distances but they also get to show up in style. 😁😃👍

[@Irish-transport]

Cool vid very interesting👍🏻😃

[@Sacto1654]

I'm actually surprised that given Jerry Jones' want for publicity, he didn't grab one of the ex-Delta 777-200ER's to become the Cowboys' main charter plane and is still relying on American Airlines. That is unless Jones has a cozy relationship with American Airlines' management.

[@PJWestfield]

I think it is two fold: American Airlines like to think of themselves as America's Airline and the Cowboys are billed as America's Team, plus the cozy relationship with management.

[@FireDawg276]

I wonder if they would ever apply a special Cowboys livery for a 777.

[@aidanzacharyguzman1676]

I think they made a good choice because a beautiful young 777 like this deserves a second chance after spending time in Victorville collecting dust. It can't just be scrapped right away.

[@johniii8147]

Not really young. It's a 20 year old aircraft. It will be fine for such low utilization and they got it cheap.

[@joewileman4480]

Surprised to see any of the ex-Delta 777's being adopted for passenger use at all. I initially had assumed they would all be rapidly chosen for freighter conversions.

[@johniii8147]

It’s not a typical passenger application. It’s one of the that won’t be scrapped or used for cargo

[@jamafia97]

Was on this plane yesterday

[@zk4654]

How much did they purchase it for

[@cody-underwood]

I saw this at DTW when they also brought a kallita air charters 747

[@justinglenn69]

Makes sense.

[@LoydChampion]

The major airlines in the USA, Delta, United, and American all have aircraft configured for charter flights for sports teams. Typically they are 757's with an office configuration in the front, and first class seats in the next section and deluxe coach seats in the rear for press and such. These are generally used by Major League Baseball teams. A 777 seems like an over kill for a Football team, but hey... why not! Probably got it cheap enough and it was in good flight condition.

[@Sacto1654]

They need something about the size of a 777-200ER because you have 53 active players, possibly 6 practice squad players, coaches and supporting personnel that all need to be moved around. Just that is over 120 people moved.

[@adub1300]

Most NFL teams charter a wide body anyways. The players are heavier than average and so is their gear. The cards typically chartered a delta 777 or an atlas 747 in the past.

[@Superpom40]

When you consider that you'll have at least 43 players (some of whom will weigh in the region of 300 lbs plus maybe a few extra players as back up) and around 40 to 50 staff including coaches, equipment managers and medical staff, having such a large plane makes sense as you can put in seats that guys will feel comfortable in. Plus they travel with around 15,000 lbs worth of equipment.

[@LoydChampion]

@@Sacto1654 120 people in an all business class configuration would be fine in a 757 and much less cost to operate. An NFL football team travels about 12 times a season; so what else will it do in order to keep the aircraft flight worthy?

[@Dokatrall]

Ive flown on N867DA from DTW to ICN and ICN to DTW back in April 2012

[@Steve-xf4uv]

I think their choice is "right on the money". I have to get a shot of this beauty !

[@wizardgmb]

Nascar teams have used their own aircraft to travel from their shops to races for many years. A couple of years ago Hendrick Motorsports swapped out its pair of Saab 2000 turboprop aircraft for 20 year old Embraer E145 jets. I saw the Saabs in Richmond VA for a race weekend but have yet to see the Embraers. Seat size isn't as important for HMS as it is for NFL teams as their biggest team members are probably no bigger than NFL defensive backs. Rick Hendrick was asked to use his aircraft to deliver relief supplies to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. The aircraft had satellite tracking systems so Rick was able to monitor the progress of the flights. One aircraft seemed to be spending an excessive amount of time on the ground in Haiti and Rick was getting nervous, especially when he couldn't reach the crew by sat phone. Once the aircraft was in the air, Rick found out it had been loaded up with orphaned children headed for a new life in the US and their chaperones.

[@incubus_the_man]

It's good to hear that Rick was willing to use his plane for that purpose. I would feel obligated to use my resources for good when if I had the type of wealth that he does.

[@wyoboatman]

Cardinals are 8-1 in road games this year, evidently they don't have Jet lag.

[@dpm-jt8rj]

Are the Cardinals hiring their own staff (pilots, cabin crew, maintenance staff, ramp staff, et cetera) or do they contract with an airline to operate the aircraft? The narrator mentioned Fort Worth so I wonder if AA is flying it around. That would make sense seeing that AA has a crew base and a hub at PHX but I would bet AA does not have a B777 flight crew base there.

[@marcusgriffin279]

It’s most likely being operated by a major like AA or Delta. Delta has a charter operation that operates several former Delta aircraft for sports teams using Delta crew and maintenance.

[@dpm-jt8rj]

@@marcusgriffin279 Somewhat like what Delta does with most of the NBA teams flying 757s with different seating arrangements I suppose? I often see DL 757s at an FBO at IND during NBA season, sometimes two of them.

[@mitchellvaldez592]

Maybe this is the reason we play better on the road. To bad you can't ride the 777 on I-10 and 101.

[@stradivarioushardhiantz5179]

Would love to see if there's a sports package for athletes....like we saw on Sukhoi SBJ-100 Sports Jet & Nike-Teague design concept 🛫🤓

[@KarolGrom92]

Any interior photos

[@fjp3305]

It is a great decision

[@banandud]

Thought something went horrible wrong at 00:09

[@christian0405]

Same

[@SKYSTAR767]

Is delta flight crew operating the aircraft? Flight attendants/flight deck?

[@flyboy517th]

So I guess we won't be seeing the Atlas 747 picking the team up anymore? That VIP 747 was as comfortable as it gets.

[@Brent-Tanabe]

Wonder if eventually Jerry Jones may get one for the Cowbows? Or any other team for that matter?

[@roelofvenema6500]

When i visit the U.S.A. in 2007 i spotter a Boeing 757-300 from a American baseballteam with in the taille a ball. Sorry i do not remember the name of the baseballteam.

[@willarddevoe5893]

Lets hope that the Cardinals are the first sports team in history that takes proper care of their bird. Any 737 500 or 700 would have done fine.

[@big51duck1]

I think that the LA Dodgers were the first team to own their own plane with a DC-6

[@Boffin55]

Oooh, 8 away games per year, how can they possibly handle such strenuous travel.

[@adamwallace0929]

Am I the only one that thing the Livery looks like something from the 90s? Not to be a negative Nancy😂. On a good note however, fantastic aircraft

[@TheByard]

My mum told me to never put all my eggs in one basket.

[@daleburrer1546]

Instead of teams paying overpriced players they can have their own airplane like the Cardinals. That is a nice plane.

[@christainmarks106]

They pimped it out and it now has a new lease no pun intended… on life

[@ChristopherF_1971]

Don't care about NFL football or its players but I do like the plane.

[@adamkernen965]

I truly don’t give a rip about the over paid and overhyped NFL, but I do appreciate the logistics it takes to make it all happen! Still sad to see Delta get rid of the 777’s.

[@SKS8080]

Amen to that. All NFL and NBA players are over entitled crybabies

[@Mark-uh7cr]

Maybe they should give it back since they tanked the last half of the season...

[@adub1300]

Yeah they definitely haven’t earned this luxury this year

[@sportsMike87]

Probably cheaper than chartering all the time

[@PapaG603]

The Patriots have 2 planes i believe

[@BChandl13]

Yeah cause they bought little 767-200s lol

[@PapaG603]

@@BChandl13 thats all u need for US and they were the first team to buy there own planes.and they use m for all types of goodwill.

[@Mateus01234]

I really couldn't care less for sports

[@AA-wp7yh]

A good decision but the aircraft is really old…

[@matthewforster2661]

Great to see that overpaid professional athletes get to be even more ungrateful while flying an experience that only spoiled brats get to fly on!

[@CARBONHAWK1]

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, buddy.

[@matthewforster2661]

@@CARBONHAWK1 need new mattress