Fans travel to Lambeau Field by cars ... and by private jets

GREEN BAY - Some football fans travel to Packer games in Toyota Corollas and minivans and some show up in Gulfstream 4s and Citation Sovereigns.

As traffic on Oneida St. and Lombardi Ave. backs up before every game at Lambeau Field, the private plane terminal at Jet Air located at the east end of Austin Straubel International Airport gets really busy, too.

Sometimes it’s so busy planes are parked practically wing to wing on the tarmac at Jet Air and the other fixed base operator handling private aircraft, Executive Air. The number of aircraft varies from game to game depending on weather, the visiting team and whether the Packers are playing well.

For a Packers playoff game a few years ago, more than 100 planes showed up, said Al Timmerman, CEO of Jet Air Group-Signature Select.

“It’s crazy. It’s just nuts,” said Timmerman. “It depends on who we play, who is injured. You look at ticket prices. When the Packers are doing well and there’s a lot of demand for tickets, we know how busy we’ll be.”

It gets so busy, a Packer game departure system was set up with three staging areas dubbed green, gold and white for planes to get in line for takeoff. Just like fans who travel by car to Lambeau — as soon as the game ends, everybody wants to leave right away. And there's often a backup at the airport, just as there is from Lambeau parking lots.

Everything from Boeing 757s and Cessna 172s can arrive for any Packer game.

Many make reservations with Jet Air but it’s not required. If Timmerman gets 30 reservations, he usually doubles the amount of fuel and catered meals he’ll need to accommodate planes that show up unannounced for games. The number of planes is generally four to five times the amount that comes on a weekend day in good weather, said Timmerman.

On Saturday, Jet Air got 28 reservations, about normal for a game without playoff implications for the Packers in late December when the weather is cold.

Todd Nelson, a reality TV producer who lives in California, chartered a Citation Sovereign out of Chicago to fly himself and 10 friends and family members from Madison to the game. Nelson grew up in Wisconsin and, judging by the green and gold hats and jerseys, everyone in his group are Packers fans.

The flight took 27 minutes, and though it’s not a long drive from Madison to Green Bay, Nelson said he wanted to arrive in style.

“It’s easier,” Nelson, a Packers season ticket holder, said shortly after getting off the charter flight. “It’s a Christmas present for my family and friends.”

Most fans made flight reservations because, with temperatures at game time forecast in the single digits, they wanted to reserve hangar space.

J.R. Spalj and Trevor Harting were part of a group of four who flew from the Twin Cities in a Citation Mustang piloted by their friend. The Vikings fans planned to stay overnight at a hotel. They scheduled the trip several weeks ago when the Packers were still playing well and the Vikings were not. Though by Saturday, the fortunes of both teams had turned.

“For us, it would have been a six-hour drive. This was a 57-minute flight,” said Spalj.

Jet Air will make reservations for hotels and car rentals, arrange for game tickets and taxis and provide GameDay programs and any items handed out by the Packers to fans. On Saturday, it was green Packers Christmas stockings. Jet Air provides fuel, maintenance if required and catered food and drinks.

Some customers request sandwiches or pizzas or fruit platters. Sometimes it’s lobster and plates of gourmet cheese. If food is requested in advance, Jet Air can make arrangements to pick up food and deliver it. But sometimes people come off a flight and order something to be waiting on their plane when they leave and that can be difficult since the Green Bay businesses that would make meals are already super busy handling tailgates and Packer parties.

“Some catering needs are very specific,” said Ashley Smith, a customer service representative. “Sometimes it’s the specific type of gum they want and even the number of sticks of gum.”

During the games, flight crews usually hang out at the small terminal where Jet Air always organizes a tailgate with free food and non-alcoholic beverages. On Saturday, it was ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, cookies and bottled water and soda.

A large-screen TV above a fireplace was tuned to the game in a lounge with comfortable couches and chairs. Everyone purchasing fuel on Saturday put their names in a raffle for a Packers helmet signed by former Green Bay defensive lineman Julius Peppers. On a table were keys and paperwork for car rentals.

After getting off their flights, many fans pulled warm clothing and hand and foot warmers out of duffel bags and dressed for the weather before catching cabs, Uber rides or shuttle buses to Lambeau.

Already dressed for the weather were Jet Air’s line technicians who were busy marshaling flights and driving tugs to park planes before refueling them. Nick Knoebel, a line technician, was dressed in a warm jumpsuit with knit cap and sturdy mittens under a bright green vest.

“There’s times a G4 (Gulfstream 4) will come in and we’re not expecting it and we have to find space to put it,” said Knoebel, who has worked at Jet Air three years. “We move them to where they’re going to be for the game and then we start refueling. Sometimes we’re so busy, we’re fueling right up to the fourth quarter.”

Knoebel is a Packer fan but he rarely gets to see a game because it’s “go time” at Jet Air on game days. He sometimes catches a few minutes of the game on a radio in the hangar or will glimpse a score on a TV but often he’ll have to wait until the next day to see highlights on TV.

Timmerman said customers range from dedicated Packers fans who come to every game or catch a few games each season, to visiting team fans flying in from Dallas or New York. In fact, among the busiest regular season games are when the Cowboys are in town. Also popular are teams in the NFC North since it’s a relatively short flight from Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis.

This year, though, Timmerman said he noticed a change among regular customers.

“With the national anthem protests, that turned a lot of people off. I noticed some of the regular customers who come to every game weren’t coming as much as they normally did,” said Timmerman. “These are very patriotic people. This is what I heard from customers who said they were disappointed.”