Report: American Airlines ends charter flights for Colts, five other NFL teams

There are a ton of logistical details that go with running an NFL franchise. On an overwhelmingly large majority of those details, we never even hear about or pay attention to them. We only hear about that small percentage of details that become an issue.

And the Colts may have an issue with their charter flights.

According to a report from Forbes a couple of days ago, American Airlines has suspended their agreements to provide charter flights for six NFL teams: the Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Pittsburgh Steelers. It is worth noting, however, that they will still provide charters for the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, and Philadelphia Eagles. The reasoning, Forbes reports, is that American Airlines is cutting down on charter flights because of a lack of available aircraft.

Pointing out the Forbes report, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio added some more information: he reports that other airlines are doing the same, writing that, “the source said that roughly 20 teams currently don’t have a charter provider for the coming season, and that it could become a “real issue” for the league.”

Again, these are logistical matters that most people probably won’t care much about, but it’s still worth pointing out. The Colts will now need a chartered flight provider for the 2017 season, as American Airlines informed the team that they are suspending their agreement. It sounds like this isn’t just exclusive to American Airlines either, and that other providers are cutting back on supporting NFL teams. So it will be interesting to see what the Colts wind up doing regarding transportation to games.

In the end, this could be just a minor logistical note to file away, as even though the Colts are now in need of a chartered flight service for next season they certainly should be able to find a provider, given the NFL’s popularity, money, and resources. But given the fact that this appears to be a widespread issue, it’s worth noting now just in case it does turn into a bigger logistical issue down the road as we get closer to the season.