Okay - can I tag this onto your 'hockey boys don't fly commercial' post but I have to do it on anon because i DONT need these details tied to my personal tumblr account.
Here are some explicit details on what it is like to fly private/chartered domestically and internationally in/out of Ottawa's Airport Macdonald-Cartier aka YOW. This would be how most hockey players get into and out of the city. This is very relevant for post game 6 writers.
It is a separate building completely from the main airport but it is on the same grounds. You need to turn off the main airport drive (you do this near the NRC windtunnel - note to all writers: there is a huge research test windtunnel on Ottawa airport grounds. not sure what you can do with this information but here it's available to you) and then you go into an honestly really mid looking building. It's a small parking lot, maybe 30 or 50 spaces? And then the private airport itself looks kind of like a 70s school.
You can NOT get an uber or call a car from your phone to this building you have to have the receptionist call you a taxi. this is because of some really annoying geofencing done by the main YOW commercial airport. You can get an uber to drop you off there but not pick you up.
There is no security at private airports no baggage check no metal detectors no anything. You can bring anything you want onto the plane. You just roll up and sit down until the plane itself is ready.
The Ottawa private airport specifically is mostly big white tiles and standard white walls with a sunken waiting room that's all brown leather sofas and armchairs. You think this sounds fancy but it's really very Doctor's Office. There are lots of potted plants. You can sit in this 'waiting room' (it only really sits maybe like... 10 people? - fun source of conflict a whole hockey team and not enough chairs) and be basically right on the tarmac. You're on tarmac level and the planes come right up. The glass is kind of tinted.
There are at least two receptionists working at this airport at all times their job is to cater to your every need basically - think of them similar to hotel receptionists. They get very stressed very easily at least in my experience.
you walk out of the airport onto the tarmac directly (usually!) and then have to be outside and then you go up the stairs. I've never flown private on like a team 737 so it might be different but I don't think this private airport has a proper gate so the hockey players just get Bigger Stairs. in the winter this really sucks because the airport WILL stand you in the snow for a hot minute just outside.
there is basically no border control on private flights?? the pilot just radios your passport information to the ground before you land and they pre-clear you and by the time you land you're good to go.
as far as I know you have to be a Political Elite to get tarmac car privileges in ottawa. Which means most hockey players wouldn't get them. So a player in ottawa would get off the plane, walk through the (very small) private airport, and then go to their car/bus. Whereas in other cities (the US loves letting people do this especially) you can get off your plane and walk pretty much directly to your car within 20ft.
This airport is about 40 minutes - 1hr drive from the NHL arena in Ottawa. Don't get me started on this i could bitch about it for an hour.
The plane waits FOR YOU. If something is running late or there's a problem you hold the flight until everyone is available. There is no last call for boarding on a private flight - just constant rescheduling with air traffic control. depending on the airport is how easy this is to do - runway slots are tricky sometimes but most runways can make space for a private flight (at least imo) without too much notice as long as the flight has been generally otherwise cleared.
Any flight over (8? 10? 12? idr something like that) passengers HAS to have a flight attendant. by law both in Canada and in the US. so all these team flights have flight attendants on them. these attendants as well as the pilots will be permanent team staff if the plane is owned by the team or they will be permanent staff of the chartering agency, but there aren't many chartering agencies for midsize jets so it's likely the team will get to know/recognize/be friendly with/ their attendant staff onboard.
There are probably more details but these are the most pressing ones i can think of right now.
Incredible thank you!!!
This is a follow up to this post, but has so much amazing detail I can't screen shot it and make it fit.
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