Originally Posted by
PashaF
I was thinking about contributory factors and it seems to me that football team are not average passengers. They travel with a lot of baggage, and journalist equipment was also on board. What if the plane was heavier than usual? Within legal regulation but enough to eat that10 minutes they was hoping for.
I used to work for a Premier League club. Charters were used all the time for players and officials, kit was usually sent separately, usually by road in the UK - no time pressure to get the kit there and back, but a need to move the players there and back ASAP for sporting reasons (maximise training and recovery time at base in a crowded fixture list). Also cost - taking kit of course means a bigger plane.