http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/busin ... ref=slogin

From the New York Times:

PHOENIX — IT may be too late now, but if you moved quickly the other day you could have booked a three-night stay over Super Bowl weekend at the Ramada Limited Airport North in Phoenix for a cool $2,382.78.

You read that right. A Ramada wants $2,382.78 for three nights during the Super Bowl.

The swankier hotels and resorts in the Phoenix area, of course, have been booked for months, or even years, for next Sunday’s game. But the astonishing room rates that even roadside properties are demanding say something about the three-day spectacle the Super Bowl has become. Whatever it is to most of the 70,000 or so fans who will be there, it’s corporate America’s Mardi Gras, no expense spared, to the businesses that cater to them.

Consider the private jets. The Arizona skies will be full of them next weekend, as corporations and well-heeled individuals head to Phoenix with clients or colleagues in tow.

As of Friday, about 400 private jets had already made arrangements to fly in. Private-jet schedulers say that this is the most ever, and that an epic traffic jam could ensue in the skies.

“We’re getting booked like crazy,” said Steven M. Hankin, the chief executive of Sentient Jets, a big private-jet charter company that is booking Super Bowl weekend luxury packages. “We’re seeing a significant increase in demand for flights to Phoenix, more than we have for previous Super Bowls,” and a 50 percent increase from the event last year. A mere $9,399 gets you a 50-yard-line ticket, four nights in a four-star hotel, transportation to the stadium and other perks (private jet not included).

NetJets, the largest operator of fractional-share jet ownership programs, has a worldwide fleet of more than 700 private jets of all sizes. “We are forecasting 300 flights in and out of Phoenix," at Sky Harbor and six area general-aviation airports, said Richard T. Santulli, the NetJets chief executive.

Luxury packagers and private-jet companies were ecstatic last weekend when the New York Giants and the New England Patriots emerged as the two Super Bowl contestants.

“The Giants in particular have a huge corporate fan base,” said Robert Tuchman, the founder of TSE Sports and Entertainment, a company in New York that arranges high-end corporate hospitality packages to events like the Super Bowl, the U. S. Open and the Kentucky Derby. “And 99 percent of our clients are corporations that are looking to entertain clients at these events.”

Many of those companies already have their own jets, although event planners will also arrange charters. Mr. Tuchman’s company has a basic $6,000 package that includes four nights at a four-star hotel, a game ticket, ground transportation and a spot in a celebrity golf tournament.

But hotels, golf tournaments, ground transportation, celebrity-studded parties and the like are easy enough to arrange in a major resort area. The biggest Super Bowl challenge, some organizers say, will be getting all those private jets in and out.

Nathan McKelvey is the chief executive of Jets.com, which has access to a fleet of 19 aircraft, mostly big ones like Gulfstream 4s. In general, he said, the cost for 10 hours of flying on a big private jet will run roughly $60,000, plus tax.

“The customers are mostly corporations entertaining clients,” he said.

In an interview last week, Marlene Purswell, senior vice president for operations at LegFind.com, a Jets.com online subsidiary that arranges jet trips, said Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport and several smaller airports in the area were still tabulating just how many flights to expect.

Two days before the conference championship games last Sunday, one of two major private terminals at Sky Harbor, Swift Aviation, had already logged requests for 490 arrivals and departures.

“And I’m sure there’s going to be a big spike in that number,” Ms. Purswell said.

TO prepare for the biggest traffic jam — Sunday night, when all those private jets try to depart at once — NetJets, Swift Aviation and several others are planning to set up reception centers and lounges to entertain private-jet passengers experiencing long waits. “We already know we’ll get a whole bunch of people arriving at once, and it will take some time to get those airplanes out,” she said.

Superbowl Sunday has always been a great day--for skiing!

CAVU

Or when it was in Jan, Pheasant hunting the last weekend of the year. No one out but me and my dog!

Screw the game. Go flying instead. Watch the crazy TV ads on Youtube at work the following week.

Oh PLEEASE may the Godaddy.com girl make a return this year...

akroguy wrote:Screw the game. Go flying instead.

Apparently that is easier said than done if you're based at Sky Harbor.

OK, so this is Hammer's wife, I guess you could call me Nail.

I have watched "Hammer" spend quite some time on this forum which is fine; especially in light of the fact that if he hadn't been so diligent we might not have found and landed the plane of our dreams. (Look back at "What about a 170B")

Anyway, I tried to sign up for my own account here but never got the "okay" from the powers that be... so I have hacked into "Hammer's" account, and here I am. (Don't tell him.)

My comment here is that I watch one show on television a year. Only one. The SuperBowl. For the commercials. Since we don't have a TV I am forcerd to find a local pub in which to enjoy said event. It's silly, but I actually get excited about it.

It's been raining ever since we bought the 170B home last Saturday (a week ago Saturday) and there is nothing but rain and snow in the forecast. That said, flying won't really be an option on Sunday, so I will be wathcing the superbowl, alone, in a bar, as "Hammer" will be at work... not that he as at all interested in the game, couldn't even tell you who's playing, or name even a single player involved.

So my question is I guess, why aren't there more airports with bars?

Nail

Hammer wrote:OK, so this is Hammer's wife,

So my question is I guess, why aren't there more airports with bars?

Nail

Ma'am...

You and Hammer fly over the hill into the wilds of Nevada, and I guarantee that neither you nor Mr Hammer will lack for liquid refreshment, fine dining, and some of the world's most professional lie telling. All under the wing of a couple mighty Cessnas, complete with ice chests and lawn chairs.

Gump

CAVU wrote:Superbowl Sunday has always been a great day--for skiing!

CAVU

Cheers! You read my mind

Nail/Mrs.Ravi,

What was the username you signed up with? No one is denied, but spam filters like to intercept BCP emails.

Congrats on the 170. If you're ever in Grants Pass, I'll show you mine, and you can show me yours.

-The Powers That Be

1SeventyZ wrote:Nail/Mrs.Ravi,
If you're ever in Grants Pass, I'll show you mine, and you can show me yours.

-The Powers That Be

You didn't think you would be allowed to get away with that without a smart assed remark did you?

a64pilot wrote:

1SeventyZ wrote:Nail/Mrs.Ravi,
If you're ever in Grants Pass, I'll show you mine, and you can show me yours.

-The Powers That Be

You didn't think you would be allowed to get away with that without a smart assed remark did you?

I was waitin for sombody to slap fire from his ass!!! Just remember that his ski's get more time that his plane does per year so it should be clean......

I hope Ravi doesn't beat me up when I see him.

The obvious solution is to put skis on the plane of course, and move to somewhere flat n snowy.

Powers That Be,
Don't make Hammer put on the clown suit...

ooooooo,

I love it when he puts on the clown suit

BTW Zane, guess my username is good after all.


Nail/Mrs. Ravi/snoopydoc

Question: what the hell is "THE SUPERBOWL?"

trout chaser wrote:Question: what the hell is "THE SUPERBOWL?"

Gotta check spelling. It's really the "Superbowel." (Sorry Snoopydoc.) Must be time to go home.

CAVU

trout chaser wrote:Question: what the hell is "THE SUPERBOWL?"

It's what my 15 year old eats his cereal out of. About a half a box and quart of milk. When he moves out a few years from now I might be able to afford to get a bigger plane, like a Caribou

See ya, Bub

Hammer wrote:Powers That Be,
Don't make Hammer put on the clown suit...

Would that involve a ball gag? Bring out the gimp!

1SeventyZ wrote:Would that involve a ball gag? Bring out the gimp!

Yeah, I figured Zane as the guy in the rubber suit in Pulp Fiction.... Or was that Zed....

Gump

And you thought the other thread was gettin bad!!