Photo credit: Andrea Cardin/IIHF

3 March 2023: Smart Aviation, the leaders in global aircraft and private jet charterings, are gearing up for the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championships. The annual international men’s tournament is organised by the International Ice Hockey Federation and will take place between 12-28 May 2023. Finland and Latvia are working together on hosting the tournament meaning Group A games will be played in Tampere Deck Arena (Tampere, Finland) and Group B games will be played at Riga Arena (Riga, Latvia). 

Smart Aviation is renowned for being the leaders in global sports chartering and a considerable amount of our sports charters are predominantly to key football and rugby tournaments. However, we also frequently provide air travel for global sports teams and fan groups competing in or attending other sports tournaments too. These include ice-hockey, boxing, basketball, golf, motorsport and cricket tournaments to name just a few.

Smart’s senior sports charter broker, Clive Head, has been working with ice hockey teams for more than 15 years, flying them to tournaments across the world. Clive’s extensive experience within this sport includes arranging charters for international ice hockey teams from countries including Denmark, Germany, the USA and Canada. 

Clive said: “Our work for the ice hockey season started last year, when we arranged incentive trip charters for a national ice hockey club. 50 guests including VIPs, media and sponsors, were taken on a trip to Zurich. We have also been working with teams travelling to Europe for a schedule of friendly games prior to the World Championships”.

Looking ahead to May, Clive and the team are busy finalising charters to both Riga and Tampere for the teams and also for fan groups following their teams to support them in their fight for the championship title. 

Clive added “The most challenging part of ice hockey charters is simply the amount and size of the equipment. The bulk of the kit is phenomenal and you can never underestimate just how much gear will be required. Our experience shows it is always better to go bigger with the aircraft  to ensure all the luggage and kit can travel smoothly on the day with the team. We always ask our clients for a comprehensive packing list to ensure there are no surprises on the day. Usually we charter a Boeing 757 or an A321 for a bigger space hold”. 

As with all our sports charters, the Smart Team always offers to travel with the ice hockey teams to assist with check-in and to alleviate any stress on the day.

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Call or email us today – sales@smart-aviation.co.uk / + 44 1293 551244