Panthers

[700UW]

Employees in the Charlotte station weren't shy about
showing their support for the Carolina Panthers before
they departed last Saturday to play at Philadelphia.
Employees lined the ramp area before the flight pushed
off, displaying banners and waving pompoms. The local
fire department even showered the aircraft with a water
cannon salute. (Look for photos in theHub photo
gallery.) "It was a great send-off in the US Airways
style. Employees really seemed to enjoy it," said
Charlotte Station Director Terri Pope.

This Sunday, the Carolina Panthers will be on their way
to Houston on a chartered US Airways Boeing 767, in
preparation for Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 1st.
The players will dine on Texas-style "athletic size"
hot meals followed by a "good luck" cake for dessert,
complete with the Panthers logo.

Two other charter flights a Boeing 757 and an Airbus
A321 will carry the Panther family members to Houston
on Thursday, Jan. 29. For the eighth consecutive year,
US Airways has provided transportation to the Panthers
throughout the season, including this year's playoff
games in St. Louis and Philadelphia.

"It's been a really exciting season for them and for
us," said Susan Sokol, manager of US Airways Charters.
Susan arranges the team's travel in conjunction with
the Panther's general manager and travel coordinator.
"We've formed a great relationship with the Panthers
throughout this exciting season and hope to keep it
going next year," said Sokol.

The Panthers and their family members will return from
Houston on Monday, Feb. 2. In addition to the Panthers,
US Airways provided transportation for the Pittsburgh
Steelers this year. Separately, US Airways has
increased the number of passenger seats available
between Charlotte and Houston from Jan. 29th through
Feb. 2nd for customers traveling to and from the game.

 

[ual06]

A number of years ago, I flew as Co-Pilot on a charter to take the Broncos to MSY for the Super Bowl. Prior to departure, we official changed our call sign to "Bronco 1" and was cleared "direct to MSY via radar vectors".

In retrospect, I was sure glad there was no water cannon nor major news coverage.

Good luck Panthers.

 

[MarkMyWords]

We've also added seat capacity between the hubs and IAH for the superbowl. A319's are now A321's and B733's are now B734's. Nice to know that marketing had some idea of where the superbowl was this year!

 

[Hope777]

I saw the Pictures on the Hub when the Panthers departed for Philly.

After checking my Rules and Uniform Appearance Guidlines, it appears that the Company does not allow that type of support for our favorite teams. Why are they making a big deal of it, I'm sure someone from CCY is reviewing all those pictures and will be placing each agent on a Disaplinary Level.

 

[zonecontroller]

It was a awesome display when the Panthers returned from PHL.
I couldn't believe someone from management didn't come and break it up!
After all the employees had a few minutes of enjoyment on the job!
😛 "**** in our cornflakes again" 😛

 

[FlyingHippie]

Excellent! Many of you may or may not recall that the US Air charter taking the Steelers to the SuperBowl in Phoenix made a lot of news. The First Officer opened the cockpit window during taxi into PHX and started waving a Terrible Towel it was everywhere on the news. The crew flying the charter into Houston should get a big Panther flag and do likewise. I bet it will make the news. Press is always there when the team arrives. Heck the company isn't good at creating press this is a golden opportunity for the employees to show pride.