[Albion] Ajax - Amsterdam

[portslade seagull]

Son lives in Edinburgh and flights to Amsterdam the day b4 £24 the same return

 

[Gazwag]

A good friend of mine is Chelsea STH. He’s been to loads of European away matches (not this season !) - he always books it through the clubs travel company. They typically fly with Thomas Cook and fly home about 4-5 hours after full time in the early hours. Transfers to/from grounds all sorted. I really thought this would be an option for those who wanted it.

Chelsea have been in Europe for years, how many times have we Do you really expect the club to be able to provide an affordable travel option less than a month after destinations are known. Planes are not like coaches where you could pick one up at short notice.

 

[Live by the sea]

That is very true in fact I understand the club have had to spend a lengthy time sourcing private planes to take them to some away games. since covid some of the previous suppliers have gone under

 

[Albion Robster]

Chelsea have been in Europe for years, how many times have we Do you really expect the club to be able to provide an affordable travel option less than a month after destinations are known. Planes are not like coaches where you could pick one up at short notice.

Planes are avaliable across Europe as the school summer holidays have nearly finished now. Seagulls Travel need to be clever, why not look at routing people to Montpellier or Nice, then coach fans to Marseille?
Chelsea have established a very solid and experienced travel partner, who have decent contacts in the travel industry....where as we have a family run coach company as our Travel Partner. Just think the lack of industry experience and contacts has not helped Seagulls Travel get travel packages onto the market. How are the older fans who don't use the internet getting to Amsterdam and Marseille? Some of them don't know how to book travel components for trips away. Feel sorry for them as they're waiting for the club Travel Partner to the club to come up with a package for them.

 

[S.T.U cgull]

Planes are avaliable across Europe as the school summer holidays have nearly finished now. Seagulls Travel need to be clever, why not look at routing people to Montpellier or Nice, then coach fans to Marseille?
Chelsea have established a very solid and experienced travel partner, who have decent contacts in the travel industry....where as we have a family run coach company as our Travel Partner. Just think the lack of industry experience and contacts has not helped Seagulls Travel get travel packages onto the market. How are the older fans who don't use the internet getting to Amsterdam and Marseille? Some of them don't know how to book travel components for trips away. Feel sorry for them as they're waiting for the club Travel Partner to the club to come up with a package for them.

If they don’t use the internet then they won’t be buying away tickets - sold only online and therefore won’t have the loyalty points for the fixtures. Maybe they can catch the game on the wireless instead

More seriously… I agree that providing seagull travel a platform to do the international without any prior experience wasn’t ever going to end well given logistics that it involves.

 

[Knotty]

Planes are avaliable across Europe as the school summer holidays have nearly finished now. Seagulls Travel need to be clever, why not look at routing people to Montpellier or Nice, then coach fans to Marseille?
Chelsea have established a very solid and experienced travel partner, who have decent contacts in the travel industry....where as we have a family run coach company as our Travel Partner. Just think the lack of industry experience and contacts has not helped Seagulls Travel get travel packages onto the market. How are the older fans who don't use the internet getting to Amsterdam and Marseille? Some of them don't know how to book travel components for trips away. Feel sorry for them as they're waiting for the club Travel Partner to the club to come up with a package for them.

What do you mean by “Planes are available”?

Are spare aircraft sitting on the ground waiting to be chartered? Or do you mean seats on scheduled flights are available?

 

[BN9 BHA]

I can’t believe the club’s official supporter travel company haven’t managed to put on a package to either Amsterdam and Marseille.

 

[Albion Robster]

What do you mean by “Planes are available”?

Are spare aircraft sitting on the ground waiting to be chartered? Or do you mean seats on scheduled flights are available?

I meant aircraft sitting on the ground, that have the capacity to be chartered.
I would hope Air Charter have explored all those avenues in sourcing avaliable aircraft but those conversations should have started on Friday afernoon when the draw was made.

 

[dazzer6666]

I meant aircraft sitting on the ground, that have the capacity to be chartered.
I would hope Air Charter have explored all those avenues in sourcing avaliable aircraft but those conversations should have started on Friday afernoon when the draw was made.

Barber explicitly said this wasn't the case and talked about very limited aircraft availability

 

[Knotty]

I meant aircraft sitting on the ground, that have the capacity to be chartered.
I would hope Air Charter have explored all those avenues in sourcing avaliable aircraft but those conversations should have started on Friday afernoon when the draw was made.

I don’t know when they were first contacted but I do know the cost and, more importantly, the risks involved. It would be very expensive and no-one is going to book until they have match tickets.

I was a tour operator for 40 years and I’d have been very wary of taking this on at such short notice. The potential for a huge financial hit is just too great.

Since Covid the availability of aircraft and crews for this sort of operation has become much more difficult.

Had Albion been in Europe 25 years ago, and not bottom of the Football League, I’d have chartered the supersonic baby in my avatar! Availability would have been good, but not sure anyone would have paid the price!

 

[chimneys]

2 nights in Antwerp? So a 100 mile/2 hour drive back after game and no pubs full of Albion the night before or after game!

We got Eurostar straight in to Amsterdam plus 2 nights at hotel next to central station for the same £350!

 

[Knotty]

2 nights in Antwerp? So a 100 mile/2 hour drive back after game and no pubs full of Albion the night before or after game!

We got Eurostar straight in to Amsterdam plus 2 nights at hotel next to central station for the same £350!

Now try booking large groups of supporters into Amsterdam hotels, and pay the hotels in full before you’ve collected a penny from those supporters. Not the same thing at all.

 

[Whitechapel]

Fair play to them for organising that, but I've got flights from Heathrow & 2 nights in Amsterdam for less than £300.

Unless you were absolutely terrified of flying or didn't have anyone to go with then I can't fathom why you'd go for that option.

 

[dwayne]

Wow that's horrendous

 

[BN9 BHA]

Fair play to them for organising that, but I've got flights from Heathrow & 2 nights in Amsterdam for less than £300.

Unless you were absolutely terrified of flying or didn't have anyone to go with then I can't fathom why you'd go for that option.

Wouldn’t be for me as I get bored sitting on a coach to London, looks like there is interest after reading the replies

 

[chimneys]

Fair play to them for organising that, but I've got flights from Heathrow & 2 nights in Amsterdam for less than £300.

Unless you were absolutely terrified of flying or didn't have anyone to go with then I can't fathom why you'd go for that option.

Fear of flying......Eurostar!

 

[chimneys]

Now try booking large groups of supporters into Amsterdam hotels, and pay the hotels in full before you’ve collected a penny from those supporters. Not the same thing at all.

Would be amazed if there were "large groups of supporters" wanting this, but fair play for trying albeit late in day.

 

[BN9 BHA]

no pubs full of Albion the night before or after game!

Some would say that is a result

 

[Hudson Hawk]

2 nights in Antwerp? So a 100 mile/2 hour drive back after game and no pubs full of Albion the night before or after game!

We got Eurostar straight in to Amsterdam plus 2 nights at hotel next to central station for the same £350!

Same here but total £393, staying in a hotel in the canals area, train out at 8am Thursday and back on Saturday.

 

[Whitechapel]

Wouldn’t be for me as I get bored sitting on a coach to London, looks like there is interest after reading the replies

Same here, I'd be climbing the walls before we even got out of the country on that thing.

Drive to the airport, few overpriced early morning liveners & then an hour flight. Absolute no brainer.

Fear of flying......Eurostar!

Good point, well made.

£350 to stay in a different country to the game and spend 7904 hours trundling along the motorway at 60mph.