A Czech Airlines (ČSA) charter will fly the national hockey team to Helsinki and Moscow at the end of the week for the third tournament in the Euro Hockey Tour series – the 1st Channel Cup.
Top sportsmen, including hockey players, are among our more demanding clients, with specific requirements for meals on board, as well as the transport of bulky baggage.
ČSA has been associated with the Czech hockey team for a long time through the travel agency Asiana. For example, ČSA planes brought the gold medals back from the World Championship in Vienna in 2005 and the silver medals from Riga this spring. ČSA is currently negotiating the possibility of flying our Czech hockey team to the World Championships in Moscow, which will take place at the end of April and the beginning of May 2007.
“Top sportsmen, including hockey players, are among our more demanding clients and ČSA strives to meet their needs in all respects and to offer them top quality services,” says the ČSA Charters Director, Zdeněk Prejzek. Special requirements include transporting baggage that often contains very expensive sports equipment. For example, the hockey team normally carries up to three tonnes of baggage and equipment.
Sportsmen also have special requirements for in-flight services, including meals. On the way to a tournament, ČSA personnel usually serve light meals, but on the flight back, most hockey players look forward to typical Czech cuisine. Fruit is always available on board.
[GADS_NEWS]When travelling to tournaments abroad, hockey players are checked in at the more informal South Terminal of Prague Airport. Accompanying personnel from the travel agency, Asiana and ČSA, ensure that all travel requirements are met and attend to the players’ comfort during the flight, as well as resolving any unexpected problems.
Apart from the national A-team, ČSA also transports our junior hockey teams on its regular flights. For instance, the Czech junior team will fly to the Under 20 World Championship in Stockholm on a regular ČSA flight in mid December. ČSA will also fly the under 16 hockey team to the Under 18 World Championship in Helsinki in February. At the other end of the scale, ČSA will fly the Czech veteran hockey team to a tournament in Minsk at the beginning of January. Apart from the national hockey team, ČSA clients also include Sparta Prague Hockey Club, which will be flying to St. Petersburg on a ČSA charter for the European Champions Cup in January.
