Tennis teams playing in back-to-back tournaments in Canada and the US were in need of a smooth transport option to get them between the two – ACS stepped in to help.
Taking tennis on tour
Tennis teams playing in back-to-back tournaments in Canada and the US were in need of a smooth transport option to get them between the two – ACS stepped in to help.
Our Solution
Route: Toronto & Montreal & Cincinnati
Aircraft:Bombardier CRJ200 & Dornier 328
Having chartered aircraft for the previous year’s tour, the ACS team in Toronto were well-versed in the complexities of tournament transport. Their first recommendation was to book a bigger aircraft for the flight from Montreal for the male players. While a Dornier 328 had been used in the past, it had been a challenge to fit all their kit in the hold. This time, the account manager recommended a slightly larger Bombardier CRJ200 for the men, who, sure enough, turned up with 62 pieces of checked luggage. A Dornier 328 had worked well for the ladies the previous year, so the same was booked again.
The next hurdle was the passenger manifest; the ACS team had to draw up a list of all 60 possible passengers. To speed up the arrivals process, this was then sent in advance to US customs for approval. The list was updated as the Canadian tournament progressed, until the final manifest was ready – just one hour before the first flight took off.
Both flights were scheduled to arrive after closing time on the Sunday evening, but the ACS team were able to call in a favour to arrange an out-of-hours customs team in Cincinnati. To ensure a smooth arrival they arranged for the players to be cleared near the aircraft, where their ground transport was also waiting.
The Finer Details
Onboard branding
To give the flights a professional feel, both aircraft were given branded headrest covers showing the tour logo.
In-flight catering
Since the players were celebrating reaching the next round, champagne was served en route.