Summary
- Neymar Jr.'s private flight from Europe to the Middle East on a Boeing 747 was the most tracked flight on FlightRadar24.com.
- The Boeing 747 aircraft used for the flight is owned by The Kingdom Holding Company, which has significant investments in the Saudi Arabian aviation market.
- Neymar Jr. has a fleet of private aerial transport, including two private airplanes and a helicopter, at his disposal.
While it is common for celebrities and sports personalities to fly private when traveling, when the Brazilian football star Neymar Jr. flew from Europe to the Middle East yesterday on a private Boeing 747, it was the number one tracked flight on FlightRadar24.com.
The Flight
The flight in question was a Saudi Arabian private Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which, on August 18th, flew from Paris Le Bourget Airport (LBG) to Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH). The aircraft departed Le Bourget at 12:52 and, after a flight time of just under six hours, landed in Riyadh at 18:05.
The 31-year-old airframe belongs to The Kingdom Holding Company, which is a Riyadh-based conglomerate holding company that has made several investments within the country. When considering the aviation market in Saudi Arabia, Kingdom Holding has substantial shares in flynas and NasJet, which is a full-service private aviation company in Saudi Arabia.
Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that the aircraft flew a positioning flight to Le Bourget a day before, on August 17th, departing Riyadh at 12:20 and arriving in Paris at 16:36.
This move to Saudi Arabia comes as the player recently confirmed that from now on, he will be playing football for Al Hilal Club in the Saudi Pro League.
Private fleet
While the private 747 to Saudi Arabia and the grand reception after landing in the country were all part of the nation's hospitality and welcome celebration of the football player, Neymar Jr. also has a fleet of private aerial transport at his disposal.
Like several other players, the football star has two private airplanes, an Embraer Phenom 100 and a Cessna Citation 680. The Brazilian footballer also has a Eurocopter EC130B4 helicopter to fly around.
Last year the player's Citation 680, as reported by NDTV, faced a mechanical issue when carrying the player to São Paulo.
The pilot erred on the side of caution and diverted the aircraft to the northern Brazilian city of Bao Vista for an emergency landing. It is worth noting that the player, his companions, and his crew were unharmed and safe.
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747 for the team
Another Boeing 747 aircraft that recently hosted football players is the Atlas Air 747, which was chartered by this year's UEFA Champions League winners, Manchester City, for their pre-season tour in July to Tokyo, Japan, and Seoul, South Korea.
While the team has a long-term partnership with Etihad Airways, it makes sense that the team decided to charter an aircraft, thereby Etihad can still maintain its scheduled operations without having to take an aircraft out of commercial service, while the team and the staff, with a chartered aircraft service, would have the travel flexibility and the space required for people and the equipment.
The 747 is configured total of only 189 passengers, which, when compared to the capacity of other 747-400s in passenger operations, is drastically less. The capacity is split into 10 first class suites, 143 business class seats, and 36 economy seats.
What do you think of sports teams and players flying privately? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: NDTV Sports, FlightRadar24.com.