Challenges Faced

A professional sports team was juggling complex aviation needs for their players, staff, and executives:

• Athlete-Specific Travel: The team needed to provide players with private travel options that ensured comfort and privacy while accommodating their families and equipment.
• Team Travel Logistics: For group travel, the team relied on commercial charters but faced challenges in meeting the demands of VIPs and media traveling with them.
• Inconsistent Pricing: Previously working with a broker, the team observed unexplained pricing variations, even for identical trips, leading to a lack of trust and unmet service expectations.
• Jet Card Limitations: To manage individual travel, they purchased a jet card but found it unsuitable for international trips and faced steep cost increases when upsizing aircraft for larger groups.

How HAA Provided the Solution

‍The team partnered with Heritage Aviation Advisors (HAA) to address their challenges and streamline their private aviation approach.

1. Transition to the Signature Flight Fund (SFF):
   
   • The team was able to book flights directly with operators, avoiding opaque broker markups.
   • By leveraging HAA’s established relationships with operators, they gained access to a wider fleet of aircraft, ensuring the right fit for each trip.
2. Optimized Travel for Players and Staff:
   
   • Individual athletes and their families benefitted from personalized travel solutions tailored to their unique needs, from larger cabins to accommodate families to smaller, cost-effective jets for solo trips.
   • Group charters for the team seamlessly integrated personnel, equipment, and VIPs, ensuring cost-effective and efficient travel.
3. Enhanced Transparency and Forecasting:
   
   • HAA provided the team with a detailed breakdown of travel costs, allowing them to plan and budget effectively for the season.
   • Smart Flight Optimization (SFO) helped the team identify opportunities to save, such as chartering for select itineraries instead of relying on the jet card program.
4. Refundable Flexibility:
   
   • The SFF allowed the team to allocate funds for specific players or executives and offered the flexibility to refund unused balances if circumstances changed, such as a player leaving the team.

Results

• Improved Cost Control: The team gained full visibility into pricing, ensuring they received direct operator rates with no hidden markups.
• Enhanced Relationships with Operators: HAA’s credibility and negotiation expertise strengthened the team’s access to top-tier service providers.
• Greater Fleet Availability: By expanding their access to various aircraft types, the team achieved greater flexibility for both domestic and international travel.
• Seamless Travel Planning: With HAA managing logistics, the team focused on their season, confident that their travel was in expert hands.

Client Feedback

"HAA’s Signature Flight Fund gave us exactly what we needed: transparency, flexibility, and expert support. Their ability to strengthen relationships with operators while managing all the details was invaluable. The flexibility to allocate funds for specific players and refund unused balances provided a solution we didn’t know we needed."