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Team travel costs


Fred

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There has been some discussion on several threads about Grayson's decision to move the team to Shreveport for the BOB via bus instead of air.  Just for grins I did a little research during lunch because I wanted to know the comparison.  Some feel like we should only be taking a maximum of 70 players and coaches.  We in reality are taking a little over twice that by the time you include players, coaches, trainers and film crew.  It really doesn't matter if you think we should or should not take that many.  We have decided to.  For argument's sake, I will use the 70 some advocate for flying and use the real number for buses since I don't have a good way to downsize the bus cost accurately.

Several statements have been floating around about the flight being less than 1 1/2 hours.  The listed flight duration for a nonstop from Atlanta to Shreveport is at a minimum 1 hour 46 minutes.  To that you must add 1 hour from Grayson to the airport, arrival 2 hours before the flight (this is the busiest airport in the world and it can take a while to get everyone off the bus, luggage checked, through security and to the gate.)  Add another hour on the Shreveport end to get the luggage, get on the bus and get to the motel.  So we are really talking about at 5.5 hour trip or slightly more depending on how things work out on each end.

I've seen $300 thrown out as the cost of the tickets.  I'm sure there would be some discount with a group rate but doubt we could get that low.  The lowest fares I found today were $408 round trip PLUS $25 each way for 1 checked bag.  That pushes the ticket cost up to $458 round trip including 1 checked bag each way including taxes and fees.  However, that is not a nonstop and pushes the flight time to 4.5 hours minimum, 6.5 hours average and as high as 12 hours depending on the connections.  Using the lowest flight time, that pushes total trip time to 8.5 hours when considering the non flight parts of the travel.  If we go nonstop to get the lowest flight time, those tickets go to at a minimum $587 plus $25 each way for 1 checked bag for a total of $637.  Using the 70 number that some think we should take works out to $32,060 for the 8.5 hour air travel trip and $44,590 for the direct flight with total travel time of about 5.5 hours against the bus travel time of about 9 hours.  That is non stop so we can add an hour for a meal stop taking it to 10 hours.  Using our 150 number, the cheapest would cost $68,700 and the most direct would cost $95,550.  Both numbers are unrealistic and everyone knows that.

But wait!  It turns out all of these trip are on regional jets that seat roughly 55 +/- 1 or 2 depending on the exact jet.  That includes first class so the number of available seat drops to 51-53 in coach.  To take 70 people would take 2 flights assuming there were enough vacant seats to accommodate the demand.  This has just pushed the logistics out the roof.

It is going to cost us about $15,000 for the buses to move 150 team members, coaches, trainers and film crew.  Even at the best rate airfare for only 70, we still save over $17,000.  Sure we will spend some more on rooms but it for sure isn't going to be $17,000.  The current plan has the buses leaving after the game and travel all night so there won't be a room after the game.Since we would have to travel the day before the game, I doubt there will be any extra rooms required but just for grins I'll allow that there *could* be.  $17,000 to save about an hour and a half of travel time.  Don't forget the cost savings would really be more as we would not need all of the buses.  Using half the bus cost since less than half would travel at the 70 travels number, we save over $24,000.  I've made group travel plans for large conferences before and you just don't get 40-50% discounts.  Maybe you used to could in some markets.

These numbers are for moving Grayson to and from the BOB.  Other discussions have talked about the cost of moving a team from California to Moultrie for Colquitt County or moving the Packers to a California location.  I doubt the costs would be any lower and probably would be higher.

Obviously, your mileage will vary.  I used both Expedia and flights.google.com to get my ticket costs.  A group ticket sale would most likely be less but probably not the multiples less necessary to match the bus cost.

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Guest LOSer
10 minutes ago, Fred said:

Some feel like we should only be taking a maximum of 70 players and coaches.  We in reality are taking a little over twice that by the time you include players, coaches, trainers and film crew.  It really doesn't matter if you think we should or should not take that many.  We have decided to. 

Stopped reading after this.

So basically it doesn't matter how silly and irrational we are just got with it!

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1 minute ago, LOSer said:
13 minutes ago, Fred said:

Some feel like we should only be taking a maximum of 70 players and coaches.  We in reality are taking a little over twice that by the time you include players, coaches, trainers and film crew.  It really doesn't matter if you think we should or should not take that many.  We have decided to. 

Stopped reading after this.

So basically it doesn't matter how silly and irrational we are just got with it!

Shows your ignorance and intractability.  Read the thread.  I used the 70 number to compare costs which you would realize if you bothered to read it.  You really should consider opening your mind to other thoughts.  You just might get surprised.

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12 minutes ago, Nolebull813 said:

Boring!!!! 

Grayson getting ready for their game with Curtis 

 

IMG_0009.JPG

Boring because it totally contradicts and shows how ridiculous your position is.  There are real numbers in there, not plucked out of your rear numbers like you throw about.

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Guest LOSer
8 minutes ago, Fred said:

Shows your ignorance and intractability.  Read the thread. 

You began your argument by throwing logic out the window.

140+ people for an OOS trip is not logical.

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Guest LOSer
10 minutes ago, Fred said:

Boring because it totally contradicts and shows how ridiculous your position is.

All you did is preface your post by saying "Let's begin by throwing logic out and just accepting our illogical position. Voila! It contradicts you!"

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140 people for an oos game doesn't even sound logical. 

If I give you, your wife and kids tickets to Disney, your response shouldn't be, "no we need tickets for uncles, aunts, cousins, grandma, grandpa, etc" 

The leaders at Grayson are too afraid to tell kids who are about to be adults that sometimes things in life are all not fair, and ESPN is covering 70 people all expense paid, and we will be taking the top 60 players based on time played throughout the year. Also they could have said seniors get priority on down. 

Anything. It was a joke. Stop defending it 

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Guest LOSer
2 minutes ago, Sportsnut said:

Seems having more than 50 on a team is not logical in your eyes. 

Plenty of teams have more than that and are capable of making adult decisions about a travel roster.

Once again we have silly Georgians making laughably silly arguments.

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1 minute ago, GardenStateBaller said:

The BNU teams (and most of the programs I work with) cap their travel parties (players/coaches) at approximately 70. I've never been privy to such a plan of action as the above. If you're going to bring that large a group, I agree that busing it is the most economic option. And 5.5 hours is reasonable. 

There have been way more grueling bus trips taken by OOS teams. In recent local memory, DePaul busing to Cincy to play Elder takes the cake IMO. 

 

I know PC took a bus to Ohio to play St. Ed's a couple years ago. That was pure destruction. I watched the game online.

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Guest LOSer
2 minutes ago, GardenStateBaller said:

The BNU teams (and most of the programs I work with) cap their travel parties (players/coaches) at approximately 70. I've never been privy to such a plan of action as the above. If you're going to bring that large a group, I agree that busing it is the most economic option. And 5.5 hours each way is reasonable. 

It's 9 hours one way to Shreveport.

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