The 2022 World Cup kicked off on Sunday. Due to an unusual schedule, the participating teams arrived on site much later than usual and without much time to prepare. However, it was necessary to organize the trip there and some airlines took the opportunity, as in every edition, to propose new liveries for this special occasion.
We will see how the participating teams flew to Doha and which airlines took the opportunity to display the special liveries.
National airline or not? Special livery or not? There are some surprises, infidelities to national airlines, strong messages and even a team that flew under military escort.
National Team Logistics: Anything But Fun
Moving a national team for such an event is anything but simple in terms of logistics. They travel with a more or less important delegation, take important logistics with them, have to face specific constraints in terms of security and, above all, do not know when they will return.
First of all: not all national teams travel on regular flights! First of all, for security and convenience reasons, but not only. It is also possible that no national airline serves the route in question, so a special flight is required. For example, Air France does not offer a direct flight to Doha (anyway, the French team did not fly on Air France). Whether they use a regular airline or a private one, they often travel on flights that have been “chartered” for them: choice of departure and arrival airports, schedules, privatized aircraft etc.
Then they may go and return on different airlines, again for convenience. By definition, a team does not know when it will return, but when it is knocked out, it must find a flight to return within 24/48 hours, which excludes regular flights. For example, in 2018 to go to Russia, the French team left Lyon for Moscow in a Boeing 737 of a private airline and returned with a Boeing 777-200ER of Air France specially chartered for the occasion.
Let’s also talk about logistics. The teams move around with several tons of equipment and various materials. They do not usually travel on the same aircraft. For example, all the logistics of the French team arrived several days before the players in freight so that everything could be installed before their arrival.
Finally, and contrary to popular belief, they do not necessarily travel with the national flagship airline of their country. Firstly, not all of them have an airline among their partners and secondly, for those who do not have one, it is on a case-by-case basis and on the basis of economic criteria and convenience that things are decided.
Short non-exhaustive overview for this 2022 edition of the World Cup.
Germany flies Fanhansa!
The German airline is the historical partner of its national soccer team. And it does things really well by dressing it with a special livery and even goes as far as making its name disappear to replace it by Fanhansa as for each competition where its national team goes!
Given the particular context of this world cup, it chose to use this livery to deliver a message about diversity!
It should be noted that the German national team travelled on a regular flight: this aircraft, an A330-300 registered D-AIKQ, operated the flight LH632 to Dubai via Muscat from Frankfurt. It is not known how they got to Doha from their training camp in Dubai.
England chooses Virgin Atlantic and acts provocatively
It is not British Airways but Virgin Atlantic that took the English national team to Doha! And this on board an aircraft named “Rain Bow” in support of the LGBT cause.
Note that this is not an act of communication specific to the World Cup: this A350 operates flights on behalf of the airline since 2019. Its registration is also a nod to the cause it supports: G-VPRD (for Pride).
On the other hand, while the airline had decided to adopt gender neutral uniforms in the future, it has reversed its decision depending on the countries it serves. And these uniforms will not be worn on flights to Doha.
Brussels Airlines supports the Belgian team
The Belgian national team, like Lufthansa, goes hand in hand with its national airline, Brussels Airlines (well the said airline belongs to Lufthansa). And there too a special livery will accompany the players.
Importantly, Brussels is a partner of both the men’s team (Red Devils) and the women’s team (Red Flames). Equal treatment is not always the case in all federations.
Argentina flies on FlyDubai
Some may have been surprised to see the Argentine national team arrive at the World Cup on board a flyDubai aircraft, also in special livery.
It was a special flight from Abu Dhabi where the Argentinian national team was preparing, as part of a regional partnership with the Argentinian federation. Les joueurs argentins sont visiblement arrivés au compte goutte à Abu Dhabi depuis les différents pays où ils jouent.
For its part, the national airline Aerolineas Argentinas unveiled an Airbus A330-300 with a special World Cup livery but it did not carry the players. The airline does not serve Doha but has launched a charter service for fans for the duration of the event. And maybe it will bring the players back home? In any case the airline is a partner of the Argentine Football Federation.
Brazil flies Qatar
It is on board Qatar Airways that Brazil reached Turin where it made its preparation before being the last team to arrive in Doha.
The Qatari airline painted a Boeing 777 rather soberly with the colors of the event but nothing says that it is him who transported the Brazilians.
For the record, the Brazilian soccer federation has a partnership with the Brazilian airline Gol, but since the airline only has Boeing 737s, it cannot transport its national team over the Atlantic.
France plays it low-key
Special liveries have never been Air France’s thing. A question of standing? In any case it is on an Airbus A321 Neo chartered to La Compagnie that the world champions reached Doha (the F-HNCO).
We bet that if they come back with the cup it will be on Air France?
Anyway, we are a bit disappointed when we see what some other countries are doing.
Poland under military escort
It is in a plane with the colors of the republic of Poland that the Polish players joined Qatar.
But that’s not what attracted attention: their flight was escorted by two army F-16 fighters. And the pilots did not hesitate to make some videos.
Bottom line
An event like the World Cup is always an opportunity for the airlines to make a little talk about them with, in particular, special liveries or even messages like Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic did.
As for the national teams, they generally prefer their national airline when possible and very often strong partnerships exist between the two. This does not prevent some surprises.
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