Chrono Aviation Sells Out 189-Seat Boeing 737 Raleigh Charter

chrono aviation sold out a 189-seat Boeing 737 charter for Canadiens fans headed to Raleigh for Game 2 on Saturday. The one-off flight bundled travel, a game ticket, and a bus transfer into a single $1,950 package for supporters leaving Quebec.

Dany Gagnon and the fan demand

Dany Gagnon, Chrono Aviation's co-founder and vice president, said the idea came after calls arrived last week from fans asking about chartering aircraft for small groups. "We are a charter company, so people were calling us to see how much would it be to charter an aircraft for a group of four, group of six, group of eight."

Tickets went on sale Wednesday, and Gagnon said Friday that the flight had already sold out. "It's been selling like crazy all day. And today I can tell you that we are sold out. We don't have any more seats" is how he described the rush.

Saint-Hubert to Raleigh

The plane was set to leave Saint-Hubert around noon on Saturday and make a quick stop in Quebec City to pick up more supporters before continuing to North Carolina. Passengers were then scheduled to board a bus straight to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh.

Gagnon said he was also one of the pilots on Saturday, and he was already thinking about the visual of a full aircraft loaded with fans in team shirts. "I can't stop thinking about the idea of shooting some videos of the aircraft loaded with 189 fans with their shirts on and send this to the local media in Raleigh, telling them, 'Hey, we're coming!'"

Chrono Aviation's one-day package

The charter was arranged with Laurier du Vallon travel agency. It combined a round-trip flight, a ticket to Game 2, and ground transport from the Raleigh airport to the Hurricanes arena, which turned a regular charter into a tightly packaged trip for one playoff night.

The only unresolved detail for interested fans was whether this kind of bundled charter will be offered again, because the sale window for this one filled the full 189 seats by Friday.