29 October 2023: The 2023 Rugby World Cup has come to a climactic end and the Smart Team send our congratulations to South Africa on being crowned world champions once again after successfully retaining their title against the mighty New Zealand All Blacks.

As the leaders in global sports charters, we have been involved in the tournament since the first game on the 8th September and since then we have flown over 14,000 passengers to the tournament across the host country, France. 

The team arranged extensive charters for fan groups from Ireland, England and Wales, and a Smart representative was present at every departure to ensure all went smoothly. We obtained all the desired slots for our clients and managed all the detailed passenger handling throughout. 

As most of our flights were from Ireland, this accomplishment has been no mean feat. The schedule had its challenges with slot availability and handling agents, as the demand for both was considerable. We managed to secure all our first choice slots, except one which we promptly sorted. Some of the airlines we partnered with had to operate really unsociable hours so our clients didn’t have to.

We would like to thank all of our exemplary suppliers who enabled us to successfully complete such a comprehensive schedule. The whole operation went like clockwork with the professionalism of Enter Air, Neos, Transavia Holland, Maleth Aero, Smart Wings, Jet2, Transavia France, Air Caraibes, ASL Airlines France and Air Horizont.

Mark Hawkins, Smart’s Managing Director, said: “I am extremely proud of what the Smart Team has achieved during this tournament. The complex progamme of charters has taken many months of work, with a substantial amount of moving parts. Their attention to detail and flexibility was formidable. We are already looking forward to being involved in the Guinness Six Nations Championship next year with 18 charters for Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English fans confirmed at present.”

Smart Aviation was founded in 2005 by Managing Director Mark Hawkins, an established sports charter specialist with over 30 years’ experience in senior operational roles within the travel and aviation industry, including managing sports charters at Excel Airways. Over the last 18 years, Mark has led Smart Aviation to become the leaders in global sports chartering. Mark is still very active in sports chartering, frequently providing air travel for global sports teams to key sporting fixtures including Champions League and Premier League football matches, as well as to ice-hockey, boxing, basketball, golf, motorsport and cricket tournaments.

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